The article substantiates the relevance of the study of universal learning actions of students of secondary vocational education (SVE). Against the background of the introduction of new means of assessing the educational results of students of secondary vocational education, there remains a need for the study of universal learning actions in conditions when, according to international monitoring of the quality of education, the indicators of Russian adolescents have slightly decreased, experimental studies of the formation of universal learning actions in secondary vocational students are becoming especially relevant. The specificity of the pedagogical approach to the study of the universal learning actions of SVE students is shown, the theoretical and practical significance of such studies is substantiated.