On the assessment of the effectiveness of vocational education institutions and their graduates in the labor market

Introduction. The relevance of evaluating the effectiveness of vocational education institutions and their graduates in the labor market stems from the need to enhance the quality of specialist training, align their skills with market demands, improve graduate employment rates, and advance the vocational education system as a whole. Materials and methods. The materials used in the study included regulatory and legal documents, statistical data, and scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals on the assessment of educational effectiveness, graduate employment, and the development of professional skills. Results. The study characterizes cyclical imbalances in the labor market and identifies additional methods and tools for influencing the professional self-determination of prospective students to dynamically align their career choices with the needs of the national economy while harmonizing the interests of all market participants. The following cyclical labor market imbalances have been identified in the study: a) in the labor supply structure, graduates of secondary and higher vocational institutions predominantly specialize in law and economics, contrary to economic demands; b) in the labor demand structure, engineering professionals, social sector personnel (doctors and teachers), and IT specialists dominate, which only partially corresponds to the professional composition of graduates from educational institutions. Conclusion. The practical recommendations given in the study can be implemented by federal and regional executive authorities in the Russian Federation for improving the regulation of demand for vocational education. The proposals may also be utilized in further theoretical development concerning the regulation of labor markets and vocational education.