Uman National University | today: 12/28/2025
| Author(s) | Klimenko L. V., , , Uman National University of Horticulture | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Economics | ||
| year | 2025 | issue | Issue 107 part 2 |
| pages | 62-75 | index UDK | 005.95/.96:005.6:339.137.2:339.5(477) | DOI | 10.32782/2415-8240-2025-107-2-62-75 (Link) |
| Abstract | The article proposes an integrated managerial model, Q-EXPORT Youth, which combines process-based quality standards (ISO 9001, EFQM) with strategic management instruments (Balanced Scorecard, OKR, PESTEL, SWOT) to accelerate the transition of young people from education to first employment in export-oriented sectors. The model operationalizes the quality–employability–exportability linkage, connecting the quality of educational processes with measurable market outcomes. The aim is to design and pilot a scalable governance framework that shortens time-to-job, increases six-month employment, and expands the share of young people engaged in the export business. The objectives are to: model the 2020–2024 indicator dynamics along the trajectory “shock – adaptation – partial recovery”; identify controllable links between learning conditions and market outcomes; and formulate coherent intervention bundles to be embedded in planning, budgeting, and employer contracting. The study employs descriptive trend analytics (2020–2024), comparative correlation analysis of relationships between learning formats and early career outcomes, and managerial design methods to build the intervention chain. The Balanced Scorecard structures goals, KPIs, and accountability; OKR supports short execution cycles; PESTEL and SWOT inform assessment of environmental risks and opportunities. Validation of managerial hypotheses relies on graduate panels, the incidence of junior offers, and transitions into export niches. The calculated data confirm the trajectory “shock → adaptation → partial recovery.” In 2022, NEET increased, time-to-job lengthened, and both the six-month employment rate and youth participation in export projects fell; in 2023–2024, only partial recovery is observed amid a high share of distance/blended learning and limited offline practice. A higher share of offline practice in STEM/VET correlates with higher six-month employment, whereas the expansion of distance formats is associated with a longer transition to the first job. The presence of shelters enables safe offline components, while micro-credentials (validation of short learning outcomes) facilitate entry into first junior roles. The proposed coherent intervention chain functions as “practice → validation → channels”: (I) dual education + internships shorten time-to-job and increase six-month employment, especially in STEM/VET; (II) validated micro-credentials raise the “visibility” of competencies for employers and increase youth engagement in international business; (III) career services + reverse mobility open pathways to first contracts via internship exchanges, mentoring programs, and remote collaboration with diaspora networks. In KPI terms, the targeted effects are: a reduction in the average time to first employment; an increase in the share of graduates employed within six months of graduation; and an increase in the share of young people engaged by SME exporters. The quality–employability–exportability framework acts as a “bridge” between process quality in educational programs and verifiable market outcomes (graduate panels, the share of junior offers, transitions into export niches). Practical value lies in scalability via BSC strategy maps and employer contracting (quotas for dual placements, internship SLAs), integration of e-portfolios and micro-credentials into curricula, and budgeting for reverse mobility as a sustainable channel to first contracts. Despite the wartime context and gaps in certain official data series, the identified relationships are stable and managerially relevant. It is recommended to institutionalize an annual PDCA cycle tied to KPIs, ensure interagency coordination (education – economy – labor – digitalization), and conclude cluster agreements with international companies to strengthen youth human capital and Ukraine’s external economic competitiveness during war and reconstruction. | ||
| Key words | youth human capital; strategic quality management; first employment; NEET; dual education; micro-credentials; career services; reverse mobility; foreign economic activity; competitiveness | ||