The review and analytical article is devoted to a rather specific category of employers who express their subjective opinions and assessments regarding the quality of education of university graduates applying for jobs in companies. The publication identifies a range of issues on which the opinion of employers becomes relevant for the educational community and is of practical interest for the competitive development of specific universities. The paper examines the causal relationship between the peculiarities of the development of domestic business and structural changes in its requirements for graduates as a critical resource for the growth of competitiveness in the context of the globalization of the economy. An example of an 'idealized competency model' of assessment is given, the advantages and disadvantages of the applied assessment models are analyzed, the characteristic of practical tools for assessing domestic universities by business is given (rating model). The role and place of opinions of business employers in the modernization of quality assessment tools at the next stage of IDP reform is shown