A Model of Partnership Programs between School and Business as a Tool for Developing Skills of the 21st Century among Schoolchildren in Grades 7-10

The work is devoted to the description of the model of interaction between business and school for the creation of educational programs and the organization of the educational process that solves the social request of the school from students, parents and businesses interested in the formation of a personnel reserve and the development of civil society. Due to the fact that the volume of requirements for the educational organization is increasing every year, the social order to the school is changing both on the part of society and on the part of the state, the degree of independence of schools in terms of choosing a strategy for their development is increasing - all this leads to the need to create unique offers for consumers of educational services and the formation of strong competitive advantages, as parents try to choose an educational institution for their children that provides the best basis for a future life. The managerial problem that this work is aimed at is to strengthen the competitiveness of general education schools in different socio-economic contexts by creating conditions for the development of 21st century skills among students in grades 7-10, as well as overcoming the formal orientation of teachers to develop skills 21 centuries among students. The main research question is what requirements must be taken into account to create educational programs at school with the involvement of business and how to achieve the best results for all participants in such a partnership? Based on the results of the analysis of theoretical materials in the course of this work, the answers to the following questions were formulated: What are the 21st century skill models? How does business formulate its demand for 21st century skills and what skills are in demand? What is the most appropriate 21st century skills model as the basis for a school-business partnership? Does the school have a demand to develop 21st century skills among students? What are the models of partnership programs with schools? What are the 21st century skills development programs? Based on the analysis and study of the practical experience of various organizations involved in the development of skills of the 21st century, as well as the testing of such a program, the necessary and sufficient requirements for the description of the model of partnership interaction between school and business are formulated, taking into account the characteristics of all subjects of this partnership, and first of all taking into account the age and psychological characteristics of adolescents. Keywords: model, partnership, 21st century skills, educational program, continuing education program