INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO THE FORMATION OF «SOFT SKILLS» IN THE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY OF SERVICE PROFESSIONALS

Abstract

The article analyzes the role of and approaches to the formation of “soft skills” in the studying and professional activities of service professionals. The relevance of the proposed study lies in the lack of coverage in the scientific literature of the role of “soft skills”in the professional activities of service professionals. It should be noted that the role of “soft skills” in the process of performing professional tasks of specialists in various fields of knowledge is increasingly attracting the attention of scientists, primarily due to globalization, focus on European quality standards in services, and employers' requirements for employee’s not only professional but also social skills. To achieve this goal it is necessary to perform the following tasks: to determine the pedagogical conditions for the formation of “soft” competencies in higher education in Tourism and Hospitality, which are extremely important for the daily professional activities of hospitality professionals, to analyze the prospects for “soft skills” actually in the process of professional activity, during professional internships, etc., as well as to analyze the current requirements of employers to the level of mastery of social skills. Achieving this goal led to the use of the following research methods: systematization of modern scientific literature, theoretical analysis of scientific sources to determine the status and theoretical justification of the role of “soft skills” in the professional activities of service professionals. Methods of empirical research: observation, comparison, generalization. It was proved that social skills play an important role in the professional activities of hospitality professionals, as the implementation of daily tasks is related to communication, including communication in foreign languages, teamwork, cooperation, stress, responsibility, etc. It should be noted that the analysis of labor market requirements revealed that employers are increasingly paying attention to the possession of future employees’ not only professional knowledge, skills and abilities, but “soft”competencies.