Problem Issues and Models of Professional Qualifications Assignment by Higher Education Institutions

The domestic practice of assigning professional qualifications, in particular, by higher education institutions (HEIs), varies and indicates inadequate institutional normalisation of this issue. The objective of our research is to characterise the regulatory and actual procedures for assigning professional qualifications in higher education institutions, to outline possible models for taking professional standards into account when developing educational programmes, and to provide recommendations on procedures for assigning professional qualifications. The research was conducted within the framework of the social constructivist approach and is based on the results of document analysis. The analysis of changes in educational and labour legislation, implemented in 2022, gave grounds to determine the following aspects: the assignment of professional qualifications is possible if there is an occupational standard; the name of the professional qualification is defined in the occupational standard; all learning outcomes/competences stipulated by the occupational standard should be included in the educational programme, in case of partial qualification, the educational programme should specify the specific job function or job functions defined by the occupational standard. The current practice of assigning professional qualifications does not meet these expectations and is characterised by non-systematic and inconsistency, the co-existence of different requirements for the assignment of such qualifications by qualification centres, professional associations, and HEIs. The paper presents two models of implementation of the occupational standards requirements in educational programmes: the first for broad educational specialties, the second for relatively narrow ones (with a few occupational standards per specialty). The paper concludes with recommendations on the normalisation of the process of assigning professional qualifications of HEIs at the micro-level (educational programmes), at the level of HEIs, at the meso-level, as well as at the macrolevel.