The system of lifelong multi-level professional education in Great Britain

the article describes modern multi-level lifelong education system in Great Britain, identifies its national specific features, analyzes capabilities of the system to build individual student educational routes, draws a parallel with the Russian lifelong education system. The main research method is the analysis of: normative documents, official informational and educational websites content, websites of British universities and colleges, the results of the survey conducted among British experts - vocational and additional education instructors. The authors solve the translation problem of key terms, concepts and culture-specific items, justify the approaches used, and present a bilingual glossary of key terms. At the end of the article a list of promising areas to continue the research is outlined. The British education system may be considered as a dynamic multi-dimensional model of lifelong education. It is based on the Qualifications and Credit Framework, which is an instrument to connect education and economy. Nine-level Qualifications Framework standardizes the learning objectives and outcomes at each stage. General, professional and academic qualifications may be distinguished. General education has a clear professional orientation and is focused on the development of human ability to learn and make decisions regarding the use of education as a tool for career advancement. A student of any age and education level has an opportunity to complete professional education based on their capabilities (skills, willingness to learn, pace, etc.) There are no dead-end routes to complete general and further education, as various models of further education organization have been developed in the education system of Great Britain.