Fedor Dudyrev — Candidate of Sciences in History, Director of the Center for Vocational Education and Skills Development, Institute of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics. E-mail: fdudyrev@hse.ru

Olga Maksimenkova — Candidate of Sciences in Information Systems and Processes, Junior Researcher, International Laboratory for Intelligent Systems and Structural Analysis, Faculty of Computer Science, National Research University Higher School of Economics. E-mail: omaksimenkova@hse.ru

Address: 20 Myasnitskaya Str., 101000 Moscow, Russian Federation.

This article provides a review of literature on using training simulators in vocational education and training and explores the vocational pedagogy approaches to describing training simulators as a tool for vocational skill development. We examine simulators applied in medical, engineering and teacher training education, present a general taxonomy of practice-oriented training models, and analyze the role of simulators as specific learning media. This review can be useful for developing and implementing initiatives within the Human Resources and Education component of the Digital Economy National Program (in particular, integrating simulators in vocational and higher education).