Competence-based approach in evaluating graduates of higher education organizations

The training of students in educational institutions of higher education is designed to provide the economy and society of any state with a sufficient number of specialists with the necessary specialties and qualifications. To assess learning outcomes, a competency-based approach is currently used, which consists of assessing the competencies of graduates, which are a set of knowledge and skills that allow them to perform specific professional tasks. In turn, employers in the labor market also use competencies to describe the requirements for applicants for certain vacancies. All this makes it necessary to timely assess how well graduates’ competencies meet the requirements of employers. There is a stereotype in society that it is more important to get “credentials,” and educational organizations of higher education do not always achieve their goals, that is, they do not provide graduates with the necessary competencies. To study this issue, the author analyzed statistical data on the employment and unemployment of graduates, as a result of which it was found that more than a quarter of graduates do not work in their profession, and in some industries even more. In addition, the share of unemployed among young people, including university graduates, is higher than among other age categories, which also makes it necessary to assess the degree to which their competencies correspond to the demands of employers. The author studied publications devoted to this assessment, and it was found that in almost all industries graduates lack social competencies and soft skills, and the main assessment method is to calculate the average deviations between the expected and actual level of competence. The study proved the feasibility of organizing monitoring of the degree of compliance of graduates’ competencies with the requirements of the labor market. Further work by the authors will be aimed at developing a similar methodology, taking into account the experience accumulated in science. The article was prepared based on the results of research carried out at the expense of budgetary funds under the state assignment to the Financial University.