In the scientific research the analysis of the economic activity of Ukrainians and their motivation for entrepreneurial activity in the historical and pedagogical contexts has been conducted. The authors have identified the factors influencing the formation of entrepreneurial initiative of modern Ukrainians, determined the reasons for their demotivation in engaging in entrepreneurship, highlighted the historical factor, which has a significant impact on the economic behavior, motivation, and self-motivation of Ukrainians. The article emphasizes the importance of incorporating an economic component into the training programs of future professional (vocational) education teachers, the necessity of developing their entrepreneurial competence, the need to enhance motivation and self-motivation for entrepreneurship.The study concludes that the entrepreneurial activity of the Ukrainians represents a continuous process of developing entrepreneurial competence. The authors propose considering the historical factor when designing national strategic programs, both during the current wartime period and in the post-war recovery phase for maintaining business activity within small and medium-sized enterprises. They substantiate the need to include an economic component and implement a motivation system in the training programs for future professional education teachers, who initially serve as recipients and later as providers of educational services. The necessity of integrating a motivation system and entrepreneurial practice into these programs has also been demonstrated for fostering the development of entrepreneurial competence, increasing motivation and self-motivation for entrepreneurship, enabling these future teachers to implement entrepreneurial competence in their subsequent work.