The centerpiece of the article is the idea that preparation for productive labour should occupy an entirely special position in the educational work with the youth because of the central place of the labour in the system of human activities. Preparation for it is a total process encompassing the whole life, of a student in all its aspects. It must determine the whole organization of his every-day life, the general atmosphere of his development. Work at school, physical work in a workshop and practical work in laboratories, domestic work, all kinds of extracurricular work, different forms of communication - all these can and must serve the task of psychological preparation of the youth for productive labour.