Managerial focus of a regional vocational education and training system on the needs of socio-economic development

Introduction. The policy of the European Union and many other countries in the field of education and training of personnel with applied qualifications is traditionally focused on the needs of the economy of territories and the competitiveness of enterprises. Currently, a new organisational and managerial model is being approved in the Russian Federation, related to the world practice of innovative management. Some specific management tools of the targeted focus of VET systems on the needs of the economy have repeatedly been the subject of study. However, it has not been decided yet what specific sets of management tools should be used and how to effectively achieve the dynamic balance of personnel supply and demand in regional labour markets.
Aim. The present research aimed to establish the features of the targeted managerial focusing of the activities of the regional VET systems on the needs of the socio-economic development of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation.
Methodology and research methods. The research methodology is based on the following principles and approaches: system- and activity-based analysis of social objects, comparative analysis and modelling of social systems. The authors applied the metrological principle to compare the obtained values of indicators/indicators of the activity of VET systems with the “standard”, which is used as threshold values set by the method of expert assessments or by average values of indicators in current Russian monitoring studies. Aggregated indices were calculated as sums of normalised values of corresponding indicators groups.
The following research methods were applied: questioning, expert assessment method, scaling, web analysis, content analysis of documents, methods of mathematical statistics in the processing of sociological data, methods of analysis, synthesis, generalisation, comparison, and abstraction in the interpretation of research results.
The data sources were open-source databases (websites of the government of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, educational authorities, and professional educational organisations); statistical information; expert assessments of regional specialists and specialists of executive authorities in the field of education.
Results and scientific novelty. As a result of the study, it was found that the management focus tools of the pilot regional VET system do not fully correspond to the needs of regionally oriented development. Regional differentiation is significant in accordance with most of the parameters, which characterise management tools for orienting the activities of the VET systems to the demands of the external environment. The spread in the values of indicators for the pilot regions reaches 80 %. According to several indicators, the identified differences are due to the different economic conditions of the regions. However, most of the parameters, which characterise the adaptability of regional VET systems, are not related to the economic component of the development of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and, are determined mainly by the factors of educational resources management and management models used by educational systems and individual professional educational organisations.
Practical significance. The results obtained in the study make it possible to highlight the problem areas in the management of the VET system in the region and to identify reserves for enhancing the compliance of the conditions and results of the VET system and educational organisations with the needs of the socio-economic development of regions.

1. McGowan M. A., Andrews D. Skill mismatch and public policy in OECD Countries. In: Economics Department Working Papers 1210. Paris: OECD Publishing; 2015. 51 p. DOI: 10.1787/5js1pzw9lnwk-en

2. Korshunov I. A., Gaponova O. S. Continuing education of adults in the context of economic development. Voprosy obrazovaniya = Educational Studies Moscow. 2017; 4: 36–59. DOI: 10.17323/1814-9545-2017-4-36-59 (In Russ.)

3. Abankina I. V., Belyakov A. A., Gaponova O. S., et al. Global’naja konkurentosposobnost’ rossijskogo obrazovanija. Materialy dlja diskussii = Global competitiveness of Russian education. Materials for the discussion. National Research University “Higher School of Economics”, Institute of Education. Moscow: Higher School of Economics; 2017. 112 p. (In Russ.)

4. Avraamova E. M., Klyachko T. L., Loginov D. M., Semionova E. A. Monitoring trudoustrojstva molodezhi = Monitoring of youth employment. Moscow: Publishing House “Delo” of RANEPA; 2018. 60 p. (In Russ.)

5. Kokovikhin A. Yu., Ogorodnikova E. S., Williams D., Plakhin A. E. Assessment of the competitive environment in regional markets. Ekonomika regiona = The Economy of the Region. 2018: 14 (1): 79–94. DOI: 10.17059/2018-1-7 (In Russ.)

6. Dudyrev F. F., Romanova O. A., Shabalin A. I., Abankina I. V. Molodye professionaly dlja novoj jekonomiki: srednee professional’noe obrazovanie v Rossii = Young professionals for the new economy: Vocational education and training in Russia. Moscow: Publishing House of Higher School of Economics; 2019. 272 p. DOI: 10.17323/978-5-7598-1937-0 (In Russ.)

7. Lomteva E. V., Bedareva L. Yu., Tishhenko A. S., Klyachko T. L., Polushkina E. A., Demidov A. A. Funkcionirovanie regional’nyh sistem professional’nogo obrazovanija Rossii v uslovijah social’no-jekonomicheskoj neopredelennosti: analiticheskij doklad = Functioning of regional vocational education systems in Russia in conditions of socio-economic uncertainty: Analytical report. Moscow: Publishing House “Delo” of RANEPA; 2020. 72 p. (In Russ.)

8. Zeer E. F., Lebedeva E. V., Zinnatova M. V. Methodological foundations for the implementation of the process and project approaches in vocational education. Obrazovanie i nauka = The Education and Science Journal. 2016; 7 (136): 40–56. DOI: 10.17853/1994–5639–2016–7–40–56 (In Russ.)

9. Bagirova A. P., Klyuev A. K., Notman O. V., Shubat O. M., Shherbina E. Yu., Yashin A. A. Prepodavatel’skij trud v sovremennoj Rossii: transformacija soderzhanija i ocenki = Teaching work in modern Russia: Transformation of content and assessment. Ekaterinburg: Publishing House of Ural State University; 2016. 207 p. (In Russ.)

10. Auzan A. A. “Rut effect”: The problem of dependence on the trajectory of previous development – evolution of hypotheses. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Ser. 6. Ekonomika = Moscow University Bulletin. Series 6. Economy. 2015; 1: 3–17. (In Russ.)

11. Rizvanov D. A. Methodological foundations of decision support for resource management in complex systems. Vestnik IzhGTU imeni M. T. Kalashnikova = Bulletin of Izhevsk State Technical University named after M. T. Kalashnikov. 2018; 21 (4): 200–207. DOI: 10.22213/2413-1172-2018-4-200-207 (In Russ.)

12. Postalyuk N. Yu., Prudnikova V. A. Orientation criteria for regional vocational education systems on the needs of the economy and social sphere. Ekonomicheskoe razvitie Rossii = Economic Development of Russia. 2020; 27 (4): 45–55. (In Russ.)

13. Alasheev S. Yu., Kutejnicyna T. G., Postalyuk N. Yu., Prudnikova V. A. Technology and research results of vocational education and training systems in the context of region socio-economic development. Perspektivy nauki i obrazovaniya = Prospects for Science and Education. 2020; 6 (48): 474–490. DOI: 10.32744/pse.2020.6.36 (In Russ.)

14. Hoffman N., Schwartz R. Gold standard: The Swiss vocational education and training system, international comparative study of vocational education systems [Internet]. Wash ington: National Center on Education and the Economy; 2015 [cited 2021 July 25]. 34 p. Available from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED570868.pdf

15. Remington T. F. Public-private partnerships in VET: Translating the German model of dual education [Internet]. Moscow: HSE Publishing House; 2017 [cited 2021 July 25]. 26 p. Available from: https://ioe.hse.ru/data/2017/12/04/1161471095/Remington%20T.F.pdf

16. Remington T. F. Business-government cooperation in VET: A Russian experiment with dual education. Post-Soviet Affairs [Internet]. 2017 [cited 2021 Jul 25]; 33 (4): 313–333. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1060586X.2017.1296730

17. Satdykov A. I. Comparative analysis of enterprise’s participation in the process of labor training in USA, Great Britain and Russia. Contemporary Problems of Social Work. 2019; 2: 21–29.

18. Mühlemann S. The cost and benefits of work-based learning. OECD Education Working Papers. 2016; 143. DOI: 10.1787/5jlpl4s6g0zv-en

19. Kuczera M. Striking the right balance: Costs and benefits of apprenticeship. OECD Education Working Papers. 2017; 153. DOI: 10.1787/995fff01-en

20. Dudyrev F. F., Romanova O. A., Shabalin A. I. Dual education in Russian regions: Models, best practices, opportunities for expansion. Voprosy obrazovaniya = Educational Studies Moscow. 2018; 2: 117–138. DOI: 10.17323/1814-9545-2018-2-117-138 (In Russ.)

21. Dorozhkin E. M., Aref’ev O. N. Professional’noe obrazovanie i rynok truda: kljuchevye faktory rezul’tativnogo vzaimodejstvija = Vocational education and the labor market: Key factors of effective interaction. Moscow: Publishing House “Academy of Natural Science”; 2015. 335 p. (In Russ.)

22. Al-Alawi A. I., Abdulmohsen M., Al-Malki F. M., Mehrotra A. Investigating the barriers to change management in public sector educational institutions. International Journal of Educational Management. 2019; 33 (1): 112–148. DOI: 10.1108/IJEM-03-2018-0115

23. Pollitt C., Bouckaert C. Continuity and change in public policy and management. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar; 2009. 223 p. DOI: 10.4337/9781849802291

24. Barabashev A. G., Makarov A. A., Makarov I. A. On improving indicative assessments of the quality of public administration. Voprosy gosudarstvennogo i municipal’nogo upravleniya = State and Municipal Management Issues. 2019; 2: 7–38. (In Russ.)

25. Gisselquist R. M. Developing and evaluating governance indexes: 10 questions. Policy Studies. 2014; 35 (5): 513–531. DOI:10.1080/01442872.2014.946484

26. Billett S., Harteys S., Gruber H. International handbook of research in professional and practice-based learning [Internet]. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer International; 2014 [cited 2021 May 25]. Available from: https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789401789011

27. Billett S. Learning in the circumstances of work: the didactics of practice. Education and Didactique. 2011; 5 (2): 129–149. DOI: 10.4000/educationdidactique.1251

28. Achtenhagen F., Winther E. Workplace-based competence measurement: developing innovative assessment systems for tomorrow’s VET programmers. Journal of Vocational Education and Training. 2014; 66 (3): 281–295. DOI: 10.1080/13636820.2014.916740

29. Blinov V. I., Sergeev I. S., Esenina E. Yu., Kurteeva L. N., Osadcheva S. A. Management of regional training systems. Obrazovanie i nauka = The Educational and Science Journal. 2019; 21 (3): 50–76. DOI: 10.17853/1994-5639-2019-3-50-76 (In Russ.)

30. Akaev A. A., Desyatko D. N., Petryakov A. A., Sarygulov A. I. Regional development and education system in the context of digital transformation. Ekonomika regiona = Economy of the Region. 2020; 16 (4): 1031–1045. DOI: 10.17059/ekon.reg.2020-4-2 (In Russ.)

31. Li Y., Sheldon P. Collaborations between foreign-invested enterprises and China’s VET schools: Making the system work amid localised skill shortages. Journal of Vocational Education and Training. 2014: 66 (3): 311–329. DOI: 10.1080/13636820.2014.908939