Purpose. The research is aimed at assessing the level of satisfaction of employers of Donbas with the existing training system and the conceptualization of a set of qualities that a graduate must possess in order to ensure unhindered free competition in the labor market in the mining region. Methodology. A quantitative study envisaged conducting an electronic sociological survey of two groups of respondents - employers and graduate students of the universities of the region. The survey covered enterprises located in all controlled cities of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The total survey covered 93 enterprises. The authors used an adapted marketing technique ServQual, in which each employer was required to determine the rating units according to the competent criteria. The main purpose of the survey of university graduates was to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the existing system of higher education in the region and the level of satisfaction with the educational and professional expectations of graduate students. The total number of respondents was 961 persons. Findings. The conducted research made it possible to identify the main problems existing in the field of training in the universities of the region as well as to assess the level of satisfaction of employers and students with the quality of the acquired knowledge, skills and abilities, to define the most critical competences that are the least developed among graduates. As a result, we assessed the current state and prospects for expanding cooperation between business and educational institutions, the effectiveness of career centers at universities and the level of additional services provided by universities in the field of employment. Originality. The list of conceptual recommendations for improving the economic potential of Donbas universities has been formed in particular through improving the mechanisms of employment of graduates. The differences in the perceptions of educational institutions in the region about the results of their own activities and existing needs, which are presented in a specific combination of knowledge, skills and skills expected by regional employers, are revealed. These differences recorded in the comprehensive study of key stakeholders in the educational process of the region are the result of, on the one hand, a low the adaptability of universities, which is due to existing norms, strictly regulating the activities of universities, and, on the other hand, the rigidity of universities to the reengineering procedures in the constant self-improvement of their own activities. Practical value. The ways of correction of the competence profile of the university in the mining regions are shown on the basis of more flexible curricula adapted to the needs of the real sector of the region's economy. The structure of such plans should consist of two components: a stable core and a flexible (custom) periphery. This will allow providing the added value for the offered educational services oriented on customization and diversification.

• Терепищий Сергій Олександрович (1984–) (філософські науки)

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