Assessments of human capital developed by the education system by occupational groups of employed workers

This study attempts to assess the contribution of the main forms and levels of education to the formation of human capital among workers employed in contemporary Russia. To this end, the education premium was determined using wage statistics for 2015–2023. The study found that higher education makes a significant contribution to the formation of human capital among workers employed in contemporary Russia. The highest contribution of higher education to human capital formation is observed among managers, highly qualified specialists in healthcare, and workers in the personal services sector. A significant contribution to human capital formation is observed among mid-skilled specialists, office workers involved in the preparation and processing of documentation, accounting and maintenance, service and trade workers, and workers in the security of citizens and property. The high premium for higher education among mid-skilled specialists may indicate that personnel with higher education successfully cope with the duties of mid-skilled, rather than highly qualified, specialists. A significantly lower premium for higher education among highly qualified specialists compared to mid-skilled specialists may indicate that higher education does not meet the requirements for highly qualified specialists, whose positions should be filled by individuals with higher education. The extremely low and unstable contribution of secondary vocational and general secondary education to human capital formation may indicate the low quality of these forms of education.