Students' self-directed learning (SDL) is analysed as a means to promote the development of professionals in the conditions of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR). The aim of the study was to analyse the components of SDL and to find out SDL results from the students of the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LLU) and the Ural Federal University (URFU) in the context of skills topical for 4IR, and assess their mutual coincidence. The problem whether the students' actual SDL skills meet the 4IR skill reaching demands is assessed in the study. The method of questionnaire was used to investigate the students' selfassessment on their SDL focusing on purposefulness, responsibility, motivation to reach learning outcomes, interest, cognition need, understanding of knowledge and skills usage, implementation of effective learning strategies, control assessment of learning progress, critical thinking, problem solving, time management, cooperation and appropriate usage of IT. The results of the study were obtained from 43 LLU and 28 URFU engineering students. SDL can be effective, if it corresponds to the indicators of professionalism and learning outcomes; that is why labour market and professionalism traits should be followed up constantly. Learning outcomes and SDL should be revised regularly, because they depend on the development of 4IR technologies and labour market demands. The study results also indicate that more attention should be paid to students' time management skills and learning abilities. As SDL is a complicated process consisting of various indicators, affecting factors should be analysed and assessed in further investigations in comparison with 4IR skills.

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This article is devoted to continuing education and analysis of approaches to the study of the production planning automation process in the context of digitalization. The article contains the results of a survey of 40 employees of various industrial enterprises of one of the single-industry towns in the Urals. Employees combine work in the field of production and training at the university in engineering specialties. Respondents are students of evening and correspondence departments of the Ural Polytechnic Institute of the Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin (a branch in the city of Kamensk-Uralsky). The aim of the research is an attempt to show that automation of operational planning of production at an industrial enterprise and the development of a system of personnel’ continuing education are the requirements of the very near future. The authors consider the initial basis the message that the establishment and development of professionalism of employees is possible when creating a system of continuous and advanced education. Theoretical research methods are the analysis of philosophical, managerial, sociological, pedagogical literature on the problem; systematic factual analysis; generalization; classification; and thought experiment. Empirical methods are the study and generalization of practical experience; questioning; qualitative and quantitative analysis of research results. Issues of researching ways to digitalize operational production planning at industrial enterprises are becoming increasingly relevant. The digital transformation of production is considered as a tool for collecting data that will be used to solve the tasks of operational planning of production using smart systems through built-in models and algorithms. The study has fixed that organizations need staff who are able to work in the context of digitalization and automation of the production process. Industrial enterprises create a system of continuous and advanced education. Such a system can function with the successful interaction of universities and enterprises. Employees of industrial enterprises who combine their professional activities with studying at a university are aware of the need to study during their life. Keywords: continuing education, digitalization, automation, workers, production planning