"Educational company": Peculiarities of the technology's implementation at different educational levels when forming the economic competencies of future specialists

Introduction. The relevance of the chosen topic is determined by the necessity to train specialists of a new type - constructive, initiative, responsible, full of team spirit, with flexible and economy-oriented mind, able to achieve high results in innovative and business activities and to make independent decisions when faced a choice. Such specialists are crucial for the country's future, its further prosperity. Research Methods. The technology of vocational training "Educational Company", developed by Marina Sergeyeva, was tested at each stage of vocational education. The assessment involved three levels: value-motivational, activitycognitive and reflexive-transformative. Research Results. To define the level of the graduates' economic competencies, three criteria were proposed: cognitive, personality-based and activity-creative. Three levels (low, average and high) were considered, with each of them being disclosed through a system of empirical indicators that reflect the degree of formation of a certain component. For each criterion, seven indicators were singled out, which helped to assess the conformity of graduates of vocational education institutions with economic imperatives. Discussion. The students' level of economic competencies was determined according to three criteria: cognitive, motivational-personal and activity-creative. Key, professional and additional economic competencies were also taken into account at different stages, which allowed us to carry out a comparative analysis of the students' economic competencies in experimental and control groups. The testing of the technology "Educational Company" at different educational levels involved 565 vocational students. The study proved the effectiveness of the developed level criteria (including low, average and high levels) and indicators of the students' economic competencies formation when assessing the graduates' conformity to economic imperatives. The materials given in the article can be useful for vocational teachers, parents and methodologists adapting the graduates to rapidly changing socio-economic reality. Conclusion. The revealed practical peculiarities of imitation training methods make it possible to use the components of a competitive specialist model in the educational process; to fulfill the teacher's potential in improving his/her pedagogical skills; to implement the system of imitation methods underlying the technology "Educational Company".