Abstract: in the transition period to the digital economy, Russia’s regions are experiencing an increasing need for qualified personnel. The paper considers approaches to the formation of personnel potential, as well as to its development and effective use. Under these conditions, a new system of relations between educational institutions, employers’ unions, workers’ associations, employment services – all who become not only consumers of the “products” of an educational institution, but also a source of its financial well-being becomes relevant. A comprehensive, deep modernization of vocational education is a mandatory requirement of the state policy of Russia at the present stage. The lag of the vocational education system from the requirements of the digital economy is determined. The prerequisites for the development of human resources in the paradigm of the digital economy are identified – a flexible system of higher education aimed at the labor market, a good level of digital literacy among high school students, and the orientation of the leading enterprises of the region as a whole towards digitalization. The formation of new functions of the education system to meet effectively the needs of the modern economy is considered.
Keywords: region, human resources, digital economy, qualified personnel, education system