Introduction. The changing requirements of jobs due to sanctions pressure and structural transformations of regional economies have created an urgent need for additional vocational education (AVE) and vocational training. It is important to match the training profile of employees with these changing requirements. This article focuses on the depth and direction of changes that have occurred in recent years in regional upskilling and retraining systems for personnel with applied qualifications, as well as their compliance with ongoing transformations in personnel demand in the labour markets. 

The aim of the article is to describe the development trends of upskilling and retraining systems for personnel with applied qualifications in the context of transformations in the qualification demand in regional labour markets. 

Methods. Information sources used in this study include Forms of the Federal Statistical Observation No. 1-PK, No. PO, No. SPO-1, No. SPO-2. Research tools used include indicators that characterise various aspects of the process and results of the implementation of programmes for further vocational education and professional training of personnel with applied qualifications in the observation period of 2019-2022. 

Results. The study revealed an increase in the effective demand of the population for AVE programmes, which is one of the symptoms of the ongoing structural transformations of  the Russian economy that determine the conversion of  demand parameters for qualifications. These changes are specifically regional in nature, since not all sectors of the economy are being restructured, and this fact is not reflected in all segments of labour markets. The all-Russian trends are the blurring of boundaries between organisations of various types that implement additional programmes for professionals, as well as  the insufficient use of  AVE resources to  strengthen the compliance of  the quality of training with the requirements of jobs in the labour markets.

Scientific novelty. The study established general and specific (regionally determined) development trends of  upskilling and retraining systems for personnel with applied qualifications. It  also showed their discrepancy with the dynamics of  changes in  the qualification demand in the regional labour markets. 

Practical significance. AVE and vocational training programmes can be used as an effective tool for “tuning” regional systems for training personnel with applied qualifications in accordance with the changing requirements of the labour markets.

Introduction. The quality of education in Russia is considered one of the national development goals of  the country for the period up  to 2030. To  manage the personnel training quality, a standardised assessment system is needed that allows identifying the degree of results achievement and promptly adjusting development strategies taking into account the labour market requirements. 

Aim: to describe the trends and regional features of the development of new practices for assessing the training quality of VET-programmes graduates in the observation period of 2022–2024. 

Methods. The methods of generalisation, comparison and contrast, analysis of time series of indicators, descriptive analytics, methods of mathematical statistics and graphical presentation of information were used. Information sources: data from the statistical reporting forms of the Federal Statistical Observation SPO-1 and SPO-Monitoring. 

Results. It was revealed that over a 3-year observation interval, all Russian regions increased (on average by 11 percentage points) the relative number of VET programmes graduates who passed the final certification using a demonstration exam (DE). However, as before, in Russia as a whole, less than half of VET programmes graduates participate in the assessment of the training quality in the form of DE (in 2024 – 34,5 %), while the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are significantly differentiated by this indicator. Statistical analysis revealed a marked shift of assessment scores toward higher values, attributable to the violation of the unified scales principle for the transition from “raw” points to assessment on a 5-point scale. 

Scientific novelty. The trends in the development of a system for external assessment of  the VET programmes graduates using standardised DE-mechanisms in  the Russian regions are identified. It  is established that federal and regional executive authorities in the education field currently lack reliable tools for diagnosing the vocational education quality achieved in the regions. 

Practical significance. The obtained data will make it possible to adjust the regulations and methods for conducting the DE. This will allow its results to be used as an effective monitoring tool for managing the training quality in regional VET systems, enabling prompt adjustments and minimising the risks of failing to achieve vocational education goals in response to changing labour market requirements.