HIGHER EDUCATION AND LABOUR MARKET IN UKRAINE: A DECADE OF INTERACTION

The national model of interaction between higher education and the labour market was formed under the influence of world processes (globalization, marketization, internationalization, Europeanization). In 2020, the national economy, having reached the frontier of its development, was struck by the COVID-19 pandemic, whose negative consequences require rigorous analysis and careful study. Since 2014, the negative trends in the interaction of higher education with the labour market have begun to grow. They manifested in a shortage of highly qualified workers, or inconsistency of qualifications with the requirements of the national labour market. These trends continue to escalate in recent years. At the legislative level, there was an attempt from the government to outline steps towards the interaction of higher education with the labour market but without defining specific mechanisms. The economic and financial crisis has required the government to transit to another form of financing higher education institutions and to restructure and even reduce their number. The current state of interaction between higher education and the labour market is defined as unbalanced. That has led to a mismatch between supply and demand in the national labour market; the high level of unemployment among graduates of higher educational institutions and professionals with higher education; increasing student and labour migration; distance learning and work remotely. Ukraine is gradually losing modern factors of economic growth – human capital. Prospective trends are considered in the transition to a circular economy; the inclusion of the “environmental” dimension of the circular economy in professionals training and education. The article analyses the interaction of higher education with the labour market in Ukraine over the past decade (2010-2020). The study focuses on an analysis of past, current and future trends in higher education, the labour market and national legislation from the perspective of sustainable economic development. The research is interdisciplinary and mixed (theoretical and empirical). For visualization of the analysed phenomena and conclusions, the surveys data conducted in 2015, 2017 and 2020 are presented.

ARCHITECTONICS OF THE CONCEPT OF THE NATIONAL LABOUR MARKET REGULATION

Introduction: In the current circumstances, an efficient labour market is the main condition for increasing the country's competitiveness and ensuring the sustainable regional development of its territories. At the same time, owing to some unfavourable external environment and negative tendencies, the development of the domestic labour market remains unsatisfactory, and in some areas is even disastrous. In such conditions, it is necessary to formulate a concept of regulation aiming to overcome the crisis phenomena which hinder the development of the national labour market.Hypothesis of scientific research. Effective formation of the concept of the national labour market regulation in Ukraine has to implement the targeted and competency-based approaches.The aim of this study is to define the architectonics of the concept of the national labour market regulation.Research methods: theoretical analysis – to determine the state of disclosure of the research problem in the economical scientific literature, the study of normative and legal documents in the field of state regulation; comparison, classification, generalization – to define joint characteristics of objects on the basis of processing and interpretation of theoretical sources on the problem of regulation of the labor market.Results: This article presents the definition of "concept" and the purpose of its formation. It reveals the essence of the targeted and competency-based approaches to the formation of the concept of the national labour market state regulation.Conclusions: The harmonious combination of targeted and competency-based approaches is the key to effective developing of the concept of the national labour market state regulation. Within the framework of the targeted approach, it is expedient to use the principle of goal-setting, the implementation of which is the primary stage of the formulation of the main objective of the labour market regulation. Furthermore, effective implementation of the competence of a civil servant and the competencies of the state institutions provides a basis for the competency-based approach.

Vulnerable Groups at Lithuanian Labour Market

Despite the economic growth and favourable situation in national labour market in 2004-2008 in Lithuania several groups of population still had restricted access to employment. The period of economic recession has revealed sore problems of vulnerable groups in the labor market. Based on statistical data and the research the dynamics of the situation of disabled, youth and older people situation in the labor market are examined in this article as well as the main obstacles to their participation. The increased number of the research aimed to analyse the situation of vulnerable groups in Lithuania and still persisting severe problems in national labour market stimulated to inventory recently cumulated knowledge about the groups that are at the high risk for unemployment. The research review covers studies conducted in the period between 2004 and 2010. It includes surveys carried out by competent researchers by the request of public authorities or other concerned authorities as well as doctoral dissertations. The groups of socially vulnerable people most often analysed in the labour market in Lithuania include the following: disabled, youth, and older people. The review showed that special research on labour market risk groups is the valuable search of information, whereas the shortage of statistical information has been noticed in the country. Further examination of the issues of the mechanisms to integrate and reintegrate the vulnerable groups into labour market is purposeful.