The changes in the economy and social sphere raise the problem of revising approaches to the vocational self-determination of young people. Special attention should be paid to the system of general secondary education which requires significant modifications. The article formulates real challenges posed to the education system that affect the formation of vocational self-determination. The paper presents some benchmarks for developing career guidance aimed at schoolchildren and adults that are enshrined in federal, regional and municipal regulations. The author also describes some approaches to the formation of schoolchildren vocational self-determination implemented through pre-subject oriented instruction and industry-specific training in the context of cluster-network forms of interaction between the school and institutions of secondary vocational, higher and additional education, as well as with enterprises and business. This paper also presents the innovative project developed by Municipal Budgetary General Education Institution called "Secondary School No. 60 in Novokuznetsk" of the Kemerovo Region and describes career guidance activities within the framework of its implementation.