This article considers possible approaches to reducing the shortage of personnel with higher education in regional economies and in the Russian economy as a whole. The imbalance of the system for training highly qualified specialists with industry needs, the increasing trend of graduates from secondary vocational education institutions, the reduction of the working-age population in the country, and the increase in migration flows from labor-deficient regions to economically developed ones exacerbate the issue of the shortage of personnel with higher education in both the short and long term. The aim of this article is to consider possible mechanisms for short-term and long-term provision of Russian regions and industries with personnel with higher education. The article takes into account research data on the alignment of the structure of training highly qualified specialists with the economic needs of the subjects of the Russian Federation, and addresses issues related to providing personnel with higher education for priority areas sovereignty projects, as well as analyzing the main limitations affecting the provision of the economy with personnel with higher education. The study is based on data from the consolidated forms of VPO-1 of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia on admission to higher education programs by subjects of the Russian Federation and aggregated groups of specialties and areas of training (hereinafter – UGSN), as well as on information from the Federal State Statistics Service. The analysis results have revealed that most factors determining the provision of the economy with highly qualified specialists have had a negative impact on the provision of structural restructuring of the economy in recent years, increasing the risks of implementing technological sovereignty projects.

To achieve a long-term stable growth in the social and economic well-being of the region, it is important to pay attention to the level of education in the latter, since the indicators that determine the level of higher education in the region and the indicators of the region’s competitiveness are interdependent. The authors’ aim is to work out a unified methodology that would make it possible to compare the level of development of any Russian region with the level of education in it. This research paper, based on the use of comparison methods, statistical grouping and matrix modeling, proposes a methodology for clustering regions according to the level of higher education development and the competitiveness of the territory’s economy. By means of the analysis of statistical information presented in the official databases of Rosstat and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation for 2021, the study identifies trends describing the correlation between the level of development of regional higher education and gross regional product. This paper is the first to provide a detailed analysis of the ratio of the regional higher education development index (based on seven groups of indicators: level of education, higher education personnel sufficiency, development of scientific potential in higher education, solution of social problems in the region, reputation of the regional higher school, development of the digital economy, infrastructure) and the gross regional product of 85 Russian Federation members divided into federal districts. The authors classify regions into clusters according to the level of higher education development in the region and the level of GRP. This clusterization allows them to formulate assumptions and conclusions regarding the reasons for the regions’ belonging to a specific cluster, as well as to discuss possible strategies for the development of higher education.

Universal attention to the higher education system transforms and complicates its processes. A variety of works around higher education try to study and solve a wide range of problems. Most of researchers pay attention primarily to the university as an independent unit, shifting the focus to the individualization and autonomy of universities. However, in the social sphere, leaving the university market or increasing the gap is a critical moment for interested parties, while the practice of combining several universities in order to increase their competitiveness, «saving» weak HEIs is a time-consuming and difficult process. Universities are units of the general system of higher education, which is characterized by endogenous and exogenous processes. The authors of this paper present methodological tools for assessing regional higher education systems based on the indicative method of analysis. These tools make it possible to draw conclusions on the (non-)uniformity of the system development and on its level, which is determined through the specified threshold values. The results of the analysis show that for certain blocks of the methodology, the gap between regional systems is increasing. At the same time, the leaders of the system are growing at a slower pace throughout the analyzed period, but they have firmly consolidated their positions. The catching-up systems are changing their positions, but a more active growth of indicators together with their low values does not allow these systems to overcome the average mark.

Several other important conclusions are drawn. The existing infrastructure indicators do not meet the modern challenges of higher education, whose activities are increasingly integrated with research, whose infrastructure is assessed not only by the availability of fixed assets and the availability of space, but also by their use, generation of their own infrastructure and its commercialization. The more universities participating in the programs are concentrated in the region, the higher are the indicators of the system. Moreover, there has been revealed a positive dependence between the scale of the regional higher education system and its level of competitiveness.

Our study also allows to draw a conclusion about the development of regional higher education systems both within themselves and relatively to each other. Positioning the region as demonstrating strong scientific and educational activities contributes to attracting resources (intellectual, human, financial), and vice versa. Therefore, it is necessary to develop (preventive) measures to stimulate the system.

The article examines the emerging trend of stratification of higher education institutions in Russia. Educational stratification, considered as one of the tools of state regulation, on the one hand, stimulates universities to improve their ranking indicators, and on the other hand, may limit the innovative potential of the region, constraining the development of its industrial capacity. The author uses the concept of «regional educational system of higher education» as a category reflecting the set of functioning higher education institutions in the region, allowing to assess the scientific and personnel potential of the region and its ability to address current issues. The quality of such a system in the region is determined by the demand for services from local universities, the uniqueness and balance of the educational programs they offer, and the activity in conducting relevant scientific research. Based on the analysis conducted, a conclusion is drawn on the need for regional authorities to pay more attention to the development of local universities, involving them in processes addressing current regional issues considering the existing employment structure and demand for educational services in the region. The final part of the article identifies a possible list of indicators based on which the position of the regional educational system should be evaluated relative to other regions, conducting monitoring to assess administrative influence on university education in the region.

The social and economic changes in our country, the transformation of the economy, the rapid development of technology have made researchers, politicians, employers pay attention to the potential of additional professional education (hereinafter referred to as APE) system in terms of developing and improving the employees of enterprises and organizations’ knowledge and skills. Due to a shorter training cycle (compared to higher and secondary vocational education programs), more flexible conditions and opportunities for the implementation of educational programs, the APE system could respond quickly enough to the needs for improving and developing market participants’ professional competencies according to the technological transformation of the Russian economy. This makes it necessary to consider the main trends and strategies for the APE development. The results presented in the article are based on the analysis of official statistical information, as well as on the results of a 2023 sociological study of the APE system transformation in three regions of Russia. We examine both the key characteristics of the system of additional professional education in this country, their dynamics over the past five years, and the regional specific features of the APE systems state. The presented results can be used when forming management decisions in the APE sphere; corresponding examples are proposed by the authors.

Promoting the development of the region’s human capital is an inevitable requirement of the digital transformation of higher education, and the implementation of an ecosystem approach in university management becomes a prerequisite for creating mutually beneficial conditions for continuous education. The aim of the article is to analyze the current state of university IT infrastructure in the context of the prospects for creating digital ecosystems that promote the development of continuous education services. The article is of an applied nature. The author applies a combined methodology for analyzing university IT infrastructure, based on the information used: data from the Russian Ministry of Education and Science monitoring from 2018 to 2022, monitoring by MIPT on the effectiveness of university activities, and educational platform content. The study proposes and measures the index of the digital component of academic knowledge, showing its positive dynamics overall for the country amid multidirectional changes in regions. The author draws attention to the lagging indicators of university development monitoring in terms of reflecting IT infrastructure development indicators. The expansion of the digital educational space, the segment of online resources of regional universities on federal platforms, the trend towards consumerization, and the creation of a unified digital environment, along with grant support, make it possible to further develop a regional-level unified integration platform for continuous education. Alongside these positive conditions for digital transformation, the analysis revealed digital infrastructure inequality in regional universities, low population engagement in continuous education, and the most active market positions of non-state educational platforms. The research novelty lies in the comparative analytical assessment of university IT infrastructure from the perspective of supporting continuous education based on an ecosystem approach. The research results can be useful to institutional structures and the academic community for scientifically substantiating the creation and implementation of digital continuous education services.

The article is of a research nature and analyzes the goals in the field of digital maturity and tools for their assessment in the development programs of leading regional universities of the Russian Federation included in the «Priority-2030» program. The research method used was theoretical thematic analysis of documents of strategic planning (development programs and specialized programs of digitalization / digital transformation of regional universities of the Russian Federation included in the «Priority-2030» program). The analysis results showed that all Russian universities participating in the «Priority-2030» development program have developed their own development programs, in which point 2.8 is dedicated to the goals and measures of their digital transformation. However, the presence of development programs and a special section on digital transformation does not simultaneously imply a description of the tools for its assessment, including indicators of digital readiness. Overall, according to the results of content analysis of development programs of regional universities, it can be concluded that there is no common vision for the strategic development of universities in the field of digital transformation. Universities’ approaches to assessing digital readiness can be divided into 3 groups: 1) the development program includes a goal related to achieving a certain level of digital readiness, and a methodology for its assessment is described; 2) there is a goal and/or tasks for achieving digital readiness, but there is no mention of the tools for its assessment; 3) the program describes activities for digital transformation, but the goals of achieving digital readiness are not formulated, and there is no mention of the tools for its assessment. The novelty of the research is presented by the author’s approach to analyzing the processes of digital transformation of universities based on theoretical thematic analysis of university development programs for 2021–2030 within the framework of the implementation of the «Priority-2030» strategic academic leadership program. The practical significance of the research lies in the possibility of using the analysis results to improve the management of processes of digital transformation in universities.

Based on survey data conducted by Economy and Continuing Education Center RANEPA in 2023, the models of educational and labor behavior of final-year students of Russian universities are considered. The study is carried out on the basis of a specially developed methodology that allows both to illuminate a wide range of life practices of student youth and to identify the reasons for their differentiation. It has been revealed that the level of resource capabilities of parental families largely determines the directions of behavioral models implemented by young people. It is shown that slightly more than half of the graduates are characterized by a high level of responsibility and diligence in the process of educational preparation; about a third of young people are actively involved in additional education practices. Against the backdrop of fairly high satisfaction with the results of education, the lack of completeness in acquiring competencies applicable in the labor market is most acutely perceived. Among the most developed skills, young people perceive their own independence, the ability to find and analyze necessary information, performance, responsibility, and diligence. By the time of graduation, 60 % of graduates have already gained work experience, and if initial employment in most cases occurred regardless of the actual profile of educational preparation, after completing their studies, all groups of graduates are oriented towards employment related to their specialty. The research results show that the most important aspects of future work for those receiving higher education are the content of work, as well as career growth prospects and income. About 40 % of young people see the possibility of finding a job that satisfies most subjectively important parameters. Significant discrepancies are noted between the demands of graduates regarding an acceptable level of initial remuneration and the size of labor income that young people see as realistic. The obtained results expand the understanding of the processes taking place in the spheres of professional education and youth employment and may be of interest to specialists in these fields.

The COVID-19 pandemic, a special military operation conducted by the Russian Federation, and, as a result, the imposition of economic sanctions against Russia, have influenced the choice of graduates of the 11th grade of school in their further educational path. The main goal of the study is to analyze the changes in the choice of graduates of the 11th grade in favor of either secondary vocational or higher education under the influence of the events mentioned. Another task is to forecast the upcoming load on the secondary and higher levels of education, taking into account the demographic situation. The study is based on the data from statistical forms OO-1 (school), SPO-1 (secondary vocational education), VPO-1 (higher education), as well as demographic forecasts by single-year ages up to 2050. The research was conducted using the method of mathematical analysis of statistical information. The time range from 2017 to 2022 was divided into three periods: before the pandemic, the first year of the pandemic, the second year of the pandemic, and the beginning of the special military operation. The conducted research shows that significant changes in the choice of graduates of the 11th grade who enter secondary vocational and higher educational organizations immediately after completing their studies at school occurred during these specified time periods. Thus, the beginning of the pandemic increased their interest in the secondary vocational education system and decreased it in favor of higher education. In the second year of the pandemic, on the contrary, interest in entering universities grew, and the beginning of the special military operation led to an increase in interest in transitioning to both the secondary vocational education system and the higher education system, but only for full-time education, with a decrease in choosing part-time and distance learning forms. The research results allow for forecasting the possible load (flows of graduates of the 11th grade) on the secondary vocational and higher education systems in the long term, taking into account changes in the population size at the age of 18 (the main age of youth completing the 11th grade of school).