Mechanisms and Limitations of Eliminating the Shortage of Higher Education Personnel – Regional and Industry Aspect

This article considers possible approaches to reducing the shortage of personnel with higher education in regional economies and in the Russian economy as a whole. The imbalance of the system for training highly qualified specialists with industry needs, the increasing trend of graduates from secondary vocational education institutions, the reduction of the working-age population in the country, and the increase in migration flows from labor-deficient regions to economically developed ones exacerbate the issue of the shortage of personnel with higher education in both the short and long term. The aim of this article is to consider possible mechanisms for short-term and long-term provision of Russian regions and industries with personnel with higher education. The article takes into account research data on the alignment of the structure of training highly qualified specialists with the economic needs of the subjects of the Russian Federation, and addresses issues related to providing personnel with higher education for priority areas sovereignty projects, as well as analyzing the main limitations affecting the provision of the economy with personnel with higher education. The study is based on data from the consolidated forms of VPO-1 of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia on admission to higher education programs by subjects of the Russian Federation and aggregated groups of specialties and areas of training (hereinafter – UGSN), as well as on information from the Federal State Statistics Service. The analysis results have revealed that most factors determining the provision of the economy with highly qualified specialists have had a negative impact on the provision of structural restructuring of the economy in recent years, increasing the risks of implementing technological sovereignty projects.