Abstract:

The research objective is to reveal the characteristics of the influence of digitalization of higher education on the quality of professional training in a small town and the demand for university graduates in the local labor market. The relevance of the research is due to the necessity and practical significance of developing local digital services for business development in a small town. Traditional scientific methods were employed in the research: analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction, logical and historical connection, identifying cause-effect relationships, laws of dialectics. Sociological and statistical research methods were also used: sampling, questioning, survey, analyzing the results, grouping, and graphical representation. The research shows the following results. Analyzing the processes of digitalizing higher education in a small town reveals the following problems:  the decrease in the quality of professional training with the growth of distance learning and the use of electronic educational resources due to weak supervision and assessment by the teaching staff; the growing devaluing of professional knowledge in the digital economy with the emergence of new professions and tools for traditional business; the necessity of integrating higher education with business on a new digital basis which will promote commercialization of the research findings and innovative activities of universities. The research results are of practical significance due to the necessity of improving the process of digitalizing higher education for increasing the efficiency and quality of professional training in a small town.