ANALYSIS OF PERFORMANCE INDICATORS OF THE FUNCTIONING OF EU HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

Considering the increasing demand for higher education (HE) and the expansion of its role in the modern economy, as well as numerous challenges, it is strategically important for all countries to enhance the performance of this sector. The EU pays particular attention to the development of HE, which is necessary to ensure socio-economic transformations and maintain global economic, scientific, and cultural leadership. An important issue for the EU is ensuring the effective functioning of HE in the context of contemporary economic challenges. Therefore, the aim of this study is to conduct a general analysis of the performance indicators of the HE sector at the EU level. This is important for Ukraine in terms of its European integration course and HE reform. The overall direction of the European course for the development of HE has been taken into account, as well as the increasing activity of EU education policy, which is driven by common challenges and problems for all member states (demographic decline, unemployment, unequal access to education, etc.). The analysis of the performance of the HE sector at the EU level covers: the number of people with HE by employment status; the dynamics of the share of people with HE by age groups; the dynamics of the number of HE graduates, including per 1,000 inhabitants; the dynamics of graduates by levels of HE; the dynamics of employment of the workforce with HE in the EU high-tech sector; the dynamics of the share of graduates in science, mathematics, informatics, engineering, manufacturing, and construction per 1,000 people aged 20-29, with distribution by education levels, as well as indicators of the economic activity of the population. Emphasis is placed on the growing demand for highly qualified specialists and the importance of HE in terms of employment. Conclusions have been drawn regarding the expansion of the EU’s competencies in ensuring the performance of HE, which is reflected in a range of its education policy measures.