CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND ‘CIRCULAR ECONOMY PROFESSIONAL’: CONCEPTS IN UKRAINIAN AND POLISH SCIENTIFIC FIELD

The article analyses the approaches to the definition of ‘circular economy’ and ‘professional in circular economy’ in the Ukrainian and Polish scientific space. It is shown that in Ukraine today there is a linear economic model, according to which enterprises extract natural resources and sell what they produce to consumers who throw away products, if it no longer serves its purpose. As a result of this model, our natural resources are reduced and the amount of waste we generate increases, which leads to environmental instability and environmental degradation. The concept of ‘professional in circular economics’ in the Ukrainian educational and economic field is absent, in contrast to European countries, in particular the Republic of Poland, where the circular economy is considered as a strategy of economic development and much attention is paid to training professionals in circular economics and to improving qualification of those, who are already working. The purpose of the work is to highlight the approaches to understanding the circular economy and the content of the activities of professionals in a circular economy in the Ukrainian and Polish scientific field.Circular economy is characterized as a general name of economic activity aimed at energy saving, regenerative environmentally friendly production and consumption. The role of the circular economy as the most successful way of saving resources and materials, and thus the way to constant economic growth, in contrast to the traditional model of economic development.It is emphasized that the transition to a circular economy will create new jobs in many sectors of the economy. Ukrainian experts, in particular economists, emphasize the importance of the transition to a circular economy (instead of a linear one).Key words: linear economy; professionals’ training in circular economy; circular economy; professional in circular economy.