STATUS OF PREPAREDNESS OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEM TO COUNTER REAL AND POTENTIAL THREATS TO NATIONAL SECURITY AND NATIONAL INTERESTS OF UKRAINE IN THE CONDITIONS OF EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL CHALLENGES

The relevence of the paper is due to the need to substantiate the challenges and problems that hinder the processes of modernization of domestic vocational education and may pose a threat to national security and national interests of Ukraine. Purpose: to identify the main external and internal challenges for the system of vocational education in Ukraine, to analyze the identified problems, to determine the degree of their impact on the system of domestic vocational education, to substantiate the ways to overcome them. Methods: analysis of scientific and other sources – to identify external and internal challenges of the vocational education system; expert assessment – to rank the identified challenges, to determine their impact on the system of domestic vocational education and the level of danger to the national interests of Ukraine; systematization and generalization – to substantiate the ways to overcome these problems. Results: based on the analysis of modern legislative and regulatory sources, materials and recommendations of international and national scientific-practical conferences, seminars, webinars, publications in professional printed and electronic publications, a list of external and internal challenges for vocational education in Ukraine is formed; the problems determined by them are substantiated; the degree of their influence on the system of domestic vocational education is determined; proposals are formulated for their solution. Conclusions: A number of challenges have been identified: the external challenges (transformation of world labor markets due to changing energy paradigm, introduction of rational models of consumption and production, intensification of "green policy"; transition of developed countries to a new technological system and digital economy; information war against Ukraine; staff shortage labor markets and the resulting strong labor migration from Ukraine) and the domestic challenges (public and economic demand for a new quality vocational education system; high unemployment, shortage of competitive skilled workers in domestic labor markets). Based on the method of expert evaluation, we have identified the problems that, in the conditions of hybrid war, may pose the greatest threat to the national interests of Ukraine (low quality of professional training of teachers of vocational education institutions; insufficient provision of educational programs for critical thinking of modern youth; teachers and students of vocational education institutions), its economic security (inconsistency of quality of training of future skilled workers to the requirements of modern employers, insufficient formation of entrepreneurial, career, self-educational competencies of graduates; low career guidance; education), as well as environmental and energy independence (low level of energy saving and environmental competence of graduates of vocational education institutions, low motivation of partners to participate in the modernization of vocational education).