(2022) Science and education, 3, 31-35. Odessa.

Lesia Mandro,
Postgraduate Student of the Department of
Theory and Methods of Preschool and Special Education
Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University
57 Shevchenko St.,
Ivano-Frankivsk, 76018, Ukraine
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5417-9419

“SOFT SKILLS” AND “META SKILLS” AS THE BASIS OF PROFESSIONAL GROWTH OF SOCIAL WORKERS

The purpose of the article was to study the current problem of professional growth and improvement of specialists employed in the social sphere. It is noted that the profession of a social worker acquires a new meaning in the post-Covid environment and during military operations, and therefore there is a need for the formation of qualitatively new, much higher skills of a professional. The need for the development of “hard skills”, “soft skills” and “meta skills” (“subtle skills”, “skills that are outside the boundaries” is also analyzed) for the competitiveness of the social worker in the labor market. Different views on the interpretation of the concept of “meta skills” are indicated and their components are distinguished. The difference between “hard skills”, “soft skills” and “meta skills” is defined. It is indicated that “meta skills” are manifested in the constant ability to develop the necessary specific skill, and the main among them are the search for a goal and following it, emotional intelligence, motivation, courage in making decisions in non-standard situations, ability to learn, ability to work, ability to work with a perspective, ability to listen, empathy, readiness for challenges, high speed of processing received information, ability to win favor of others. The study also showed that the development of meta-skills will help prepare for a new job and facilitate adaptation to any world changes. The proper level of their development will allow the individual not only to respond well to changes, but also to be active and use them to create new opportunities or jobs for themselves and others. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a great example of people’s ability to adapt and change when needed. They were forced to demonstrate many different skills during this time and at other times in their lives. Since there is no limit to the professional’s self-improvement, the search for new ways for professional growth remains important.

social work, social worker, professional training, professional skills, “soft skills”, “meta skills”.

1. Amran, M., Kutty, F., Surat, S. (2019). Creative problem-solving (CPS) skills among university students. Creativ. Educ. № 10, pp. 3049–3058. Retrieved from: https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=96794[in English].
2. Boobphan, K., Boonchan, S., Tungkunanan, P. (2012). Higher order thinking skills of students in Bangkok, Thailand. Espacios. № 41, pp. 331–340. Retrieved from: https://www.scopus.com/home.uri [in English].
3. Boonyaprapun, B. (2020). Development of manual for Self-awareness of undergraduate students. FAA J. № 13 (1), pp. 75–85. Retrieved from: https://www.scopus.com/home.uri [in English].
4. Brewer, M., van Kessel, G., Sanderson, B., Naumann, F., Lane, M., Reubenson, A., Carter, A. (2019). Resilience in higher education students: a scoping review. High Educ. Res. Dev. Pp. 1–16. Retrieved from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07294360.2019.1626810?journal-Code=cher20 [in English].
5. Bridges, D. (1993). Transferable skills: a philosophical perspective. Stud. High Educ. № 18 (1), pp. 43–52.
Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/refhub/S2405-8440(22)00075-5/sref8 [in English].
6. Eurich, T. (2017). Insight: the Power of Self-Awareness in a Self-Deluded World. Macmillan, UK. Retrieved from: https://cutt.ly/NXSvaCS [in English].
7. Finch, D., Nadeau, J., O’Reilly, N. (2012). The future of marketing education: a practitioner’s perspective. J. Market. Educ. №,35 (1), pp. 54–67. Retrieved from: https://www.oxfordlawtrove.com/view/10.1093/he/9780199597376.001.0001/he-9780199597376-chapter-4 [in English].
8. Loshkareva, E., Luksha, I., Ninenko, I., Smagin, D., Sudakov, D. (2018). Skill of the Future – How to Thrive in the Complex New World. Retrieved from: http://www.globaledufutures.org/images/people/WSdoklad_12_okt_engilovepdf-compressed.pdf [in English].
9. Razzetti, G. (2018). The Meta Skills You Need to Thrive in the 21st Century. Retrieved from: https://liberationist.org/themetaskills-you-need-to-thrive-in-the21stcentury [in English].
10. Senova, M. (2020). Meta skills are the key to human potential. BESS. № 2 (1), pp. 133–137. Retrieved from: https://cutt.ly/sXSv3y6 [in English].
11. Skills Development Scotland. The Centre for Workbased Learning. Skills 4.0 A Skills Model to Drive Scotland’s Future. (2018). Retrieved from: https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/44684/skills-40_a-skills-model.pdf [in English].