PUBLIC SERVICE MOTIVATION OF STUDENTS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS FROM UNIVERSITIES OF RUSSIA AND SOUTH AFRICA

: A career choice in the public sector might seem strange as more financially lucrative careers beckon in the private sector.  Similarities and differences in the motivation of choosing and staying in the public sector between students currently enrolled in undergraduate studies towards a career in the public sector (referring to all spheres of government) in Russia and the Republic of South Africa are analyzed in this article. Through this process new knowledge is generated for public personnel managers in recruitment drives, promoting current and new employment opportunities possibilities are enhanced and ideas are generated for tertiary institutions for the development of curriculum to ensure that public servants will be able to address, through the attainment of the necessary skills, the changing circumstances within which public servants operate in the public sector. Recommendations in respect of further research possibilities are also explored