National System of Professional Qualifications: Legal Status, Mechanisms, and Link to the Labour Market

The article examines the national system of professional qualifications of the Russian Federation as an integrated legal regime designed to ensure the comparability of labour requirements and educational outcomes in support of a stable labour market and public objectives of the state. It analyses the legal status of the system’s core elements, including professional standards and independent qualification assessment, and outlines the main organisational-legal and procedural mechanisms for verifying qualification requirements. Particular attention is paid to the importance of uniform law enforcement, legal certainty, and institutional coherence among system participants as prerequisites for employer and citizen trust in the results of professional examinations. The article concludes that further improvement of legal regulation in this area contributes to strengthening human resources capacity and enhancing the quality of professional activity while maintaining a balance between public interests and the rights of parties to labour relations.