This is an empirical study of professional competencies. The article addresses two main tasks: the
demands of the labor market presented to specialists in the field of trade and marketing; and the
identification of the professional competencies formed by the standard for the preparation of FSES
HE 3+ and whether it meets the modern requirements of employers. Two hypotheses are investigated:
(i) can the competencies inherent in the educational standard develop the necessary skills required
by this profession in the modern labor market; and (ii) do the professional competencies reflect
the necessary personal qualities demanded by employers. The analysis shows that the educational
standard of the FSES HE 3+ is rather poorly adapted to the modern requirements of the labor
market. As a rule the professional competencies in it develop a specialist who is ready to engage in
his own entrepreneurial activity, while the training of such personnel is carried out at the expense
of the state budget. This implies the need to work in large organizations and to possess a wider set
of skills, including the ability for expert and analytical work, systemic thinking, etc. The increasing
innovation in high-tech industries as Russia moves towards a digital economy will increase the
demand for labor marketers who have design, engineering, visualization and skills for working with
BigData. It is these skills that should be integrated into the new FSES of HE3 ++ to train a specialist
to meet the requirements of the 21st century.