Introduction. Training personnel for a  transforming and increasingly complex economy is  a challenge for the vocational education system. The indicators that would characterise the level of training of students are not many. Human capital is one of such indicators. The subject of the study is the amount of accumulated state investments in secondary vocational education per student by the time they graduate and enter the labour market (dynamics by year of graduation).

The aim of  the study is  to calculate the amount of  public investment per student under the secondary vocational education programme in the regions of the Russian Federation, both in  vocational educational organisations and higher education institutions for the entire period of student’s education, and to conduct a comparative analysis with similar foreign indicators. 

Methods. Mathematical methods were used to calculate the accumulated investment costs for the formation of the student’s human capital. 

Results. The results obtained allow us  to state that differences in  the amount of  accumulated investment in  the human capital of  students in  the vocational education depend not only on  territorial differences, but also on  different time periods. In most of the observed subjects, investments in 2016 graduates exceeded investments in 2020 graduates. In the observed period since 2016, investments in the human capital of  secondary vocational education students have generally been declining. Comparison of  accumulated investments in  graduates of  2018 in  Russia with those in foreign countries (the USA and Germany) in terms of purchasing power parity shows that domestic indicators are comparable to foreign ones. 

Scientific novelty. Two methods for calculating the accumulated state investment costs for forming human capital of  a secondary vocational education student are proposed and tested. A  technique was developed for collecting and processing primary statistical information necessary for calculations. 

Practical significance. The results of  the study can be  used for the development of federal and regional regulations in terms of improving the methods of calculating the standards for financing secondary vocational education programmes. 

Funding. The research was carried out with the financial support of  the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation within the state task “Theory and Methodology of the Formation of a Content Update System in the Framework of Teacher Training Under the Transformation of the Russian Economy” (fundamental research), No. 073- 00104-22-01.

Introduction. The social and economic development of a country or a specific region is accompanied by the development of creative industries, which are gaining increasing importance not only in people’s everyday lives, but also as an important and stimulating sector of the economy. However, there is currently no established understanding of the organisation of human resources in this important sector of the economy, which is a relevant socio-economic and pedagogical problem. The first and necessary step in solving this problem is the conceptual definition of the creative industries themselves, which many specialists discuss. It is time to draw some conclusions. 

Aim. The identification of guidelines for organizing the training of personnel for creative industries is based on the conceptual definition of the creative industries as a distinct sector of the economy implementing a unique scenario of socio-economic reproduction. 

Methods. In the course of the research, various methods such as explication of meanings, conceptual analysis, discourse analysis, reflexive integration, conceptual reconstruction, and theoretical modelling were utilised. Additionally, communication with practitioners and theorists of creative industries played a significant role in the study. 

Results. The study showed that creative industries are a  constant component of  socio-economic reproduction in any era, mediating the transition to industrial (mass and standardized) reproduction of some results of cultural creativity. This sector of the economy, which is transitional in nature and essence, has become rapidly widespread in the last two centuries, which continues today. The organisation of  personnel training for creative industries is itself a sector within the creative industries, originating from private initiatives and depending on them for support. Over time, this type of training may either diminish in its local iterations or evolve into a standardized, mass-produced mode of personnel training. 

Scientific novelty lies in identifying the specifics of creative industries not by the characteristics of their products and/or the technologies used in them, which is the predominant approach, but by the nature of their dominant type of labour. 

Practical significance. The identified guidelines will allow organisers of personnel training for creative industries to choose their strategy based not only on compliance with existing requirements, standards, and benchmarks, but also on creating conditions for the expression of creativity in students, their willingness to take justified creative risks, and their accountability for the outcomes.