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DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2024.75.03.5
How to Cite:
Folomieieva, N., Koycheva, T., Ihnatenko, N., Vasiutynska, Y., & Petrykei, O. (2024). The ways of development of soft skills, mets
skills, and hard skills in students of higher education. Amazonia Investiga, 13(75), 56-66. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2024.75.03.5
The ways of development of soft skills, mets skills, and hard skills in
students of higher education
Шляхи розвитку м'яких навичок, метанавичок та твердих навичок у студентів вищої освіти
Received: January 15, 2024 Accepted: March 25, 2024
Written by:
Nataliia Folomieieva1
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7832-4748
Tetyana Koycheva2
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5518-4260
Nataliia Ihnatenko3
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1616-8708
Yelena Vasiutynska4
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3967-0269
Olha Petrykei5
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0432-7484
Abstract
The article analyzes the content and shows the
importance and necessity of soft skills, mets
skills, and hard skills today. The types of soft
skills that are particularly important in modern
society are highlighted and the most common
classification of soft skills in the public space is
presented. Mets skills are considered as a basis
for the development, application, and
improvement of knowledge and skills, as "higher
order" skills that provide an opportunity to
improve and understand the significance of
other, already existing competencies and allow to
achieve the set goal. The importance and
necessity of professional hard skills – skills of
working with machinery, equipment, and devices
have been established. It has been proven that
only a combination of soft skills, mets skills, and
hard skills should and can become a cornerstone
in the plan of training specialists in institutions of
higher education. Ways of effective formation of
1
Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Stage & Variety Art, and Directing Techniques, Sumy
State Pedagogical University named after A.S. Makarenko, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: JUU-7235-2023
2
Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Full Professor, Professor of the Department of Pedagogy, State Institution “South Ukrainian
National Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushynsky”, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: GOM-8070-2022
3
Ph.D. in Pedagogical Sciences, Professor of Department of Pedagogy, Theory and Methods of Primary Education, Dean of the
Faculty of Arts, Management, Pedagogy and Psychology, Hryhorii Skovoroda University in Pereiaslav, Ukraine. WoS Researcher
ID: HLK-9104-2023
4
Ph.D., Senior Lecturer, Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: IUT-1182-2023
5
Senior Lecturer at the Department of Theory and Methods of Physical Education, Oleksandr Dovzhenko Hlukhiv National
Pedagogical University, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: KDN-0574-2024
Folomieieva, N., Koycheva, T., Ihnatenko, N., Vasiutynska, Y., Petrykei, O. / Volume 13 - Issue 75: 56-66 / March, 2024
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soft skills, mets skills, and hard skills with the use
of ICT are shown. It is noted that a necessary
component in the international academic
environment is the command of foreign
languages.
Keywords: applicants of higher education, soft
skills, mets skills, hard skills, institutions of
higher education.
Introduction
The importance of universal soft skills, mets
skills, and hard skills is confirmed by
international and national studies and called
"21st-century skills". In recent years, in the
global labor market, the concept of "Soft skills"
has become an integral part of society and the
most diverse sectors of the economy. However,
institutions of higher education in practice may
not always create conditions for the
comprehensive development of soft skills.
Therefore, in the preparation of students of
higher education, one of the main tasks in the
modern educational space is to find ways for the
systematic and purposeful development of soft
skills (Shchehlova, 2021).
Until recently, it was assumed that a specialist
trained in a higher education institution would be
able to do everything and perform his work
professionally, namely, work in a team, analyze,
be resistant to stress, and this was not taught in
higher education institutions, it was not separated
into a certain specific branch. Nowadays, the
attitude towards the development of soft skills,
mets skills, and hard skills – important skills for
a specialist in any field has changed, employers
require separate and diverse skills and
knowledge. Attention is paid to the ability to
rationally allocate one's time, think creatively,
work in a team, and communicate with different
people, which has led to changes in the standards
of higher education and educational programs in
the educational sector (Kravets, 2020).
Professional communication in English, which is
an integral component of a specialist's success in
the professional field, is a relevant issue in the era
of high technologies when training a specialist in
any field. Therefore, English language learning
should be professionally oriented in institutions
of higher education and closely intertwined with
the development of skills (soft skills, mets skills,
hard skills) in higher education students. It is this
combination that makes it possible to
successfully compete in the labor market and
opens up wider prospects for a person in his
activities.
In the conditions of the challenges of the century,
which are global, as a result of which the
educational process is implemented on a remote
platform, all teachers have to look for new ways
to improve and develop soft skills, mets skills,
hard skills and training for the development of
communication skills.
Development of effective strategies for soft
skills, mets skills, and hard skills training
programs in any field can contribute to social
changes in society, in general, in the labor
market, increase the competitive advantage of
companies, as well as provide opportunities for
employees themselves to advance in careers
summer stairs (Kuptsova & Kolieva, 2022).
Literature review
Foreign and domestic publications update the
need for systematic and purposeful development
of universal soft skills, mets skills, hard skills,
and general competencies of higher education
students.
James Heckman and Tim Kautz (2012) showed
that it is "soft skills that predict success in life,
that they causally cause this success, and that
programs that improve soft skills occupy an
important place in the effective portfolio of
public policies".
P. Raciti (2015) determined that the development
of soft skills and student training in a higher
education institution should be a priority task of
the educational space since soft skills are closely
related to a person's social adaptation, personal
well-being, and adaptation to the work context.
For the first time, a classification of "soft skills"
was developed for future primary school
teachers. I. Miroshnyk (2021), a complex of
communicatively oriented exercises, which
should be formed in the process of foreign
language professional training in higher
education students; within the scope of the
educational discipline "Foreign language
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according to professional direction", the
peculiarities of the formation of "soft skills" in
the applicants based on a specially developed
complex of communicatively oriented exercises
are revealed. M. Chykalova (2023) devoted her
research to the analysis of the acquisition of
communicative interpersonal skills by students
of higher education in the specialty "International
Relations" in the process of learning foreign
languages, to promote the effective promotion of
specialists in the professional field; an analysis of
the concepts of soft skills, mets skills, and hard
skills was carried out, the possibilities of creating
abilities were compared, the corresponding
possibilities in the training of students in higher
education institutions, the characteristics of soft
skills according to the direction of training
"International relations" were presented.
The works of scientists are devoted to the
integration of extra-professional skills in the
process of learning foreign languages into
university education (Kostikova et al., 2021).
O. Kravets (2020), the problem of the
development of soft skills in professional foreign
language classes for students of higher education
is considered, foreign language resources that
help students of non-linguistic higher education
institutions to develop and nurture soft skills are
considered, the possibility, expediency, necessity
are highlighted development of soft skills under
the condition of properly selected resources in a
regular English class.
During the study of a foreign language on a
distance platform, T. Kuptsova and I. Kolieva
(2022) considered the main methods, features,
and ways of developing soft skills, mets skills,
and hard skills. For graduates of engineering
specialties, the ways of developing soft skills,
mets skills, hard skills, and the possibility of
language communication during negotiations,
business conferences, meetings, meetings, work
in international teams are shown; the ability to
negotiate and convince, to make public speeches,
to defend one's point of view; to implement
critical thinking, written communication. The
necessity of the English language for the
formation of such skills is shown.
I. Kostikova, L. Holubnycha, Z. Girich, &
N. Movmyga (2021) determined the degree of
development of soft skills (team management,
creativity, critical thinking, interaction with
people, emotional intelligence, conflict
management, stress resistance, flexibility) in
higher education graduates, who successfully
acquired further development with the help of
game learning tools in the process of learning
English.
A. Albarrán, & C. González (2015) conducted
scientific investigations and proved the
connection between the degree of formation of
soft skills of a higher education student and the
effectiveness of professional tasks.
International studies by scientists confirm the
importance of 21st-century skills – universal soft
skills, mets skills, and hard skills. But because, in
practice, institutions of higher education cannot
always create conditions for the purposeful and
complex development of soft skills, mets skills,
and hard skills, therefore, in the modern
conditions of training students of higher
education, one of the main tasks is to find ways
for systematic and purposeful development of
soft skills, mets skills, hard skills.
So, the goal of our research is to identify the most
optimal options for the development of sought-
after soft skills, mets skills, and hard skills for
those seeking higher education.
Methodology
Research methods were used in the research
process:
− theoretical: analysis, comparison,
systematization of scientific, methodical,
educational literature on the subject of
research on the development of soft skills,
mets skills, hard skills in students of higher
education, generalization of the
development of soft skills, mets skills, hard
skills to clarify the level of the research
problem and its scientific development,
determination of methodical principles of
the raised problem, outline of directions of
development of advanced progressive ideas
in this field;
− empirical: indirect and direct observation,
questionnaires, surveys, diagnostic methods,
with the aim of systematizing and
generalizing statistical and analytical
material; a pedagogical experiment to reveal
the real state of development of soft skills,
mets skills, and hard skills among students
of higher education;
− mathematical: (mathematical analysis,
processing of melons, ranking);
− statistical: for statistical digital processing,
summarization of the obtained results.
In the educational space of institutions of higher
education, a survey of the degree of development
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of sought-after soft skills, mets skills, and hard
skills among higher education recipients was
conducted with the help of a questionnaire
developed in Google Forms. The proposed
questionnaire contained open and closed-type
questions.
When answering the questions, students of
higher education had to determine the degree of
development in the educational process of each
of the proposed soft skills, mets skills, and hard
skills on a 10-point scale. The questions were
formulated in such a way that students of higher
education started from their own opinions.
The proposed questions were aimed at obtaining
information:
− respondents' understanding of soft skills,
mets skills, and hard skills;
− expressing the opinion of each respondent
regarding the necessity and importance of
developing soft skills, mets skills, and hard
skills in the educational process;
− expressing an opinion about the necessary
soft skills, mets skills, hard skills for the
future profession, etc.
Students in the last year of study took part in the
survey.
The research made it possible to find out the
ways that can contribute to the effective
development of the necessary soft skills, mets
skills, and hard skills in higher education
applicants. The majority of respondents believe
that the optimal ways of developing soft skills,
mets skills, and hard skills are: their inclusion in
professional disciplines, i.e. polishing and
thorough development of the required soft skills,
mets skills, and hard skills in the process of
studying educational disciplines – 80% of
respondents; introduction into the educational
process of higher education institutions: trainings
– 75% of respondents; elective disciplines – 67%
of respondents; webinars – 55% of respondents;
essays and portfolios – 53% of respondents;
online courses – 50% of respondents; round
tables – 49% of respondents; creative tasks –
49% of respondents; business and role-playing
games – 40% of respondents; group and
individual projects – 40% of respondents.
After analyzing the answers of the respondents to
the questions of the questionnaire, the most
optimal options for the development of the in-
demand soft skills, mets skills, and hard skills
were selected for those seeking higher education.
The conducted empirical research confirmed the
need of higher education applicants for the
systematic and purposeful development of soft
skills, mets skills, and hard skills demanded by
the modern labor market.
Results and discussion
1. Content, importance, and necessity of
hard and soft skills today.
Soft skills are universal general competencies,
extra-professional skills that allow a person to
interact effectively in various life and
professional situations and strengthen
professional skills and are a necessary condition
for successful professional implementation.
"Soft skills" are used as synonyms of such
concepts as "non-professional skills", "people
skills", and "employability skills". Today, only
professional skills are not enough, it is necessary
to widely use the spectrum of universal (soft
skills) skills to be competitive in the labor
market. For this, a specialist must have the ability
to quickly orient himself in non-standard, new
conditions, learn throughout his life, solve
complex professional tasks, accept challenges,
and be able to overcome difficulties. From the
very beginning of his career, a graduate of a
higher education institution should be able to
negotiate with partners, and clients, argue and
communicate his position to other people,
possess emotional intelligence, critical thinking,
etc. (Shvedova et al., 2022).
The qualification level of the future specialist has
always played a primary role for employers.
In the historical process of the professional field,
attention was primarily paid to hard skills, which
are easier to assess in a short period and are more
technical. The present is characterized by
constant improvement and development of
technologies, which directly affects changes in
the specialist's workplace. Therefore, the need
for the appropriate skills of employees is
evolving and changing, as modern companies
face a changing competitive battlefield (Connell
et al., 2014). The working environment, which
means the modern student environment, is
characterized by diversity, where specialists have
the opportunity to interact in a multicultural
world. The ability to apply interpersonal
communication skills is critically important for
the educational space and understanding of team
members and colleagues. The constituent part of
the student educational space is changing. In a
modern educational institution, the student
environment is a combination of people from
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several age groups and people of different
genders and ethnicities. An important element of
the modern educational process is that "the
change of generations has led to an increase in
the demand for future workers with soft skills"
(Bailey, 2014).
In 1959, there was a need for a sound scientific
approach to the training of highly qualified
military personnel of the US Army, and it was
then that the terms hard and soft skills were
coined in the military field. The importance and
necessity of both the professional skills of
military personnel (hard skills) and the relevance
of the development of soft skills and their
universal competencies were established, and the
differences between hard and soft skills were
shown. (hard skills – skills of working with
machinery, equipment, devices; soft skills –
skills of teamwork, working with people,
papers). The terms hard and soft skills, which
were used only in military psychology and
science, later moved to the business sphere, the
business sphere, and education. The
requirements for hard skills remain unchanged in
different companies, and for soft skills – they are
situational and change.
Hard skills ("hard" skills) – knowledge of
programming languages, knowledge of foreign
languages, ability to type quickly, mathematical
calculations, etc., where any skill can be
evaluated objectively.
Soft skills ("soft" skills). It is much more difficult
to measure them in specific indicators, but it is
possible to develop them. These are universal
competencies, the degree of manifestation of
which depends on the characteristics of the
character, personality type, and temperament of
a person – inclination to teamwork, sociability,
the ability to work in conditions of force majeure,
etc. (Kuptsova & Kolieva, 2022).
2. Types of soft skills that are especially
important in modern society.
Soft skills identified in the workplace as
important levers include teamwork,
communication, problem-solving, motivation,
trust, and enthusiasm. Communication skills are
crucial for success in any field of human activity
(Oseredchuk et al., 2022). Employers are
constantly determined by the soft skills they
consider appropriate. The most in demand are
adaptability, creativity, cooperation, conviction,
and emotional intelligence (Kuchai & Kuchai,
2019). Employers want to see a high level of self-
organization, communication, and public
speaking skills, the ability to create
presentations, master office programs, and
manage projects (Puhach et al., 2021).
M. Franco-Ángel, J. Carabali, & M. Velasco
(2023) identify the following types of soft skills
that are particularly important in modern society:
1) the area of interpersonal relations (objective
self-assessment; contact; empathy and
compassion for other people);
2) personal dynamics (striving for
achievements; sense of responsibility; high
motivation; self-confidence);
3) desire for success (motivation to maintain
status; self-sacrifice; initiative; tendency to
systematize);
4) endurance (resistance to failure and
criticism; positive emotional guidance; job
satisfaction; firmness of life position).
The Boston Consulting Group, an international
company specializing in management
consulting, conducted a study of the most
important qualities of candidates for a vacant
position, and the significance for employers of
various soft skills:
− communication skills are most in-demand –
79% of respondents claim this;
− vital active position – 78%;
− think analytically – 77%
− endurance – 75%;
− teamwork – 74%;
− desire to achieve the set goal – 70%;
− the ability to be inspired by new ideas –
54%;
− the ability to positively resolve conflicts –
54%;
− personal creativity – 43%;
− reliability as a person and specialist – 42%
(David et al., 2021).
Operating on such ladies, it was concluded that
the importance of soft skills is constantly
growing, and the development of these skills in a
higher education student is aimed at making him
competitive in the labor market and a worthy
member of society (Kravets, 2020).
If for 2023 the defining skills for a specialist in
any field of activity were: communication skills,
an active life position, analytical thinking,
endurance, teamwork, striving to achieve a set
goal, solving complex tasks and conflicts, critical
thinking, personal creativity, the ability to
interact with people, the ability to manage people
and be inspired by new ideas, the reliability of a
person and a specialist, the ability to make
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decisions, etc., then for 2025 the rating of skills
is slightly changing:
1) innovativeness and analytical thinking:
2) educational strategies and active learning;
3) the skill of complex problem-solving,
4) formation of ideas;
5) think critically and analyze the situation;
6) initiative, creativity, originality;
7) 7 personal leadership and social influence on
it;
8) use of innovative technologies, development
of technologies;
9) peer evaluation and monitoring;
10) stress resistance of the individual and human
flexibility;
11) solution, justification of problems (World
Economic Forum, 2023).
3. The most common classification of soft
skills.
The most common classification of soft skills in
public space is the distribution of soft skills
according to the following categories:
1) social and communicative skills
(interpersonal skills, communication skills,
leadership, group work, human social
intelligence, communication ethics,
responsibility);
2) cognitive skills (problem-solving skills,
critical thinking, intellectual load
management, innovative thinking,
information skills, time management, self-
study skills);
3) components of emotional intelligence and
personality attributes (creativity, emotional
intelligence, optimism, honesty, flexibility,
empathy, motivation) (Guerra-Báez, 2019).
Between categories and within each
category, personality qualities and
individual skills overlap (Shvedova et al.,
2021).
4. Mets skills – the basis for development,
application, and improvement of
knowledge and skills.
Mets skills are "higher-order" skills that make it
possible to improve and understand the
significance of other, already existing
competencies and allow you to achieve the set
goal, they are "skills that are outside the
boundaries, that is, super-professional,
interdisciplinary, those that go beyond the usual
way of thinking, perception of the surrounding
world and oneself" (Chykalova, 2023).
Interesting studies were conducted at Stanford
and Harvard universities. In particular, scientists
claim that only 15% of career success is ensured
by the level of acquired professional skills, and
85% belongs to soft skills. These facts, obtained
during the research, motivate the student of
higher education to purposefully develop such
skills that will be useful to future specialists in
various life situations when solving important
issues.
At today's stage of society's development,
effective professional activity and the training of
specialists for it cannot be successfully
developed without another type of skills – mets
skills, "higher order" skills that allow the future
specialist to achieve the set goal, that enable the
student of higher education to better understand
ways of acquiring competencies important for
professional activity and improving existing
ones. It is mets skills that are the basis for the
development, application, and improvement of
other skills and knowledge. Note that only the
combination of soft- and mets skills should and
can become a cornerstone in the plan of training
specialists in institutions of higher education
(Bida et al., 2022).
5. The effectiveness of the formation of soft
skills, mets skills, and hard skills using
ICT.
From the side of the students of higher education,
as well as from the side of the teachers, the use
of information management systems for the
educational process contributes to the
improvement of the quality of education and the
development of soft skills, mets skills, and hard
skills in students of higher education.
Distance learning services and platforms are
considered a means of authentic communication,
becoming a mandatory element in the process of
language education and information exchange.
The effectiveness of the formation of soft skills,
mets skills, and hard skills with the use of ICT
depends on the correctly selected material, the
clarity of tasks, and the formulation of
instructions by the communication needs and
competence of students with the help of a
technical tool, the attractiveness of ICT occurs
and appears in the cooperation of the teacher with
students of higher education in the form of
projector equipment, a laptop, a telephone where
the teacher plays the role of a facilitator, who
only coordinates the process of cognitive and
creative activity of students, directing their work
so that all students of higher education in the
course of the lesson, they joined the work and the
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percentage of achievement of the developmental
component of the goal in the lesson constantly
increased (López de Parra, 2017).
6. Proficiency in foreign languages is a
necessary component in an international
academic environment.
In the international academic environment, to
successfully adapt to the exchange of scientific,
professional, and research information,
mastering foreign languages is a necessary
component. Therefore, the basis for the
formation of soft skills, mets skills, and hard
skills is a foreign language, which has become
one of the main components in the field of
successful business and any professional activity,
which contributes to the development of
international cooperation, and work in
international teams. In the process of studying
professional disciplines, students of higher
education develop the following social skills:
− communication skills: the ability to
communicate in language during
conferences, negotiations, business
meetings, meetings; the ability to negotiate
and convince, defend one's point of view,
make public speeches; to skillfully
implement written communication;
− critical thinking: the ability to resolve
conflicts and avoid conflicts; the ability to
reach agreement and agreement;
− leadership traits: the ability to identify the
essence and main trends of any issue through
observation.
The challenges of the 21st century have
presented new global challenges to the
educational space, intensifying the need for all
forms of the educational process. Therefore, the
development of soft skills, mets skills, and hard
skills becomes even more relevant for the
successful construction of a professional career,
for the personal growth of young people, and for
the development of a person's communicative
abilities. We see the mandatory use of various
types of exercises and tasks aimed at the
development of such skills as soft skills, mets
skills, and hard skills in practical foreign
language classes.
Tasks, communication exercises, and meetings
during business communication help students of
higher education remove the language barrier
and contribute to their self-confidence as
individuals.
Socio-pedagogical means of forming the moral
qualities of higher education students are not just
watching films, but also discussing the problems
that arise in them, similar to writing articles in a
newspaper.
Presentations are a component that is very
relevant in modern professional activity. during
the preparation and demonstration of
presentations, such an important skill as
creativity is developed and improved in students
of higher education.
The following tasks should be given in classes
(vote for the most promising and best project),
which contribute to the analytical and critical
thinking of young people, and stimulate the
attention of those seeking higher education. To
teach students of higher education to manage
their time, it is necessary to set strict time frames
before completing the relevant tasks. It is
advisable to appoint a responsible student of
higher education from the group who will
monitor the time.
Time management is a method that helps to
improve the quality of one's life, one's
effectiveness, to life, and to work.
Very useful for the development of soft skills,
mets skills, and hard skills is teamwork, which is
very limited during distance learning, which is
currently used too often in the educational
process. The need for the development of soft
skills, mets skills, and hard skills, the
components of which are the ability to make
presentations of projects or one's work,
communication skills, teamwork, and time
management is no longer in doubt today. The
combination of personal and professional
characteristics of an individual will allow future
specialists to find their place in the multicultural
world and successfully build their careers
(Kuptsova et al., 2022).
7. Experimental research.
In the educational space of institutions of higher
education, a survey of the degree of development
of sought-after soft skills, mets skills, and hard
skills among higher education recipients was
conducted with the help of a questionnaire
developed in Google Forms. The proposed
questionnaire contained open and closed-type
questions.
When answering the questions, students of
higher education had to determine the degree of
development in the educational process of each
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of the proposed soft skills, mets skills, and hard
skills on a 10-point scale. The questions were
formulated in such a way that students of higher
education started from their own opinions.
The proposed questions were aimed at obtaining
information:
− respondents' understanding of soft skills,
mets skills, and hard skills;
− expressing the opinion of each respondent
regarding the necessity and importance of
developing soft skills, mets skills, and hard
skills in the educational process;
− expressing an opinion about the necessary
soft skills, mets skills, hard skills for the
future profession, etc.
Students in the last year of study took part in the
survey.
The conducted survey showed that:
− 87% of respondents have an idea of such a
concept as soft skills;
− 13% indicated that they do not know the
essence of the concept of soft skills, and only
18% of all surveyed respondents have an
idea about the concepts of mets skills and
hard skills.
We received the following answers to questions
regarding the promotion of the educational
process to the sufficient development of soft
skills, mets skills, and hard skills necessary for
work in the educational process. The educational
process promotes the development of soft skills,
mets skills, and hard skills at the level (on a 10-
point scale):
9–10 points – 17% of respondents;
7–8 points –38% of respondents;
5–6 points – 27% of respondents;
3–4 points – 10% of respondents;
1–2 points – 5% of respondents.
The next question of the questionnaire was aimed
at finding out the opinion of the respondents
regarding the necessity and importance of
developing soft skills, mets skills, and hard skills
in the educational process. 93% of respondents
consider the development of soft skills, mets
skills, and hard skills necessary and important in
the process of learning in institutions of higher
education. 7% disagree with this opinion.
A question was proposed to find out the opinion
of respondents regarding the level of
development of emotional intelligence in the
educational space of a higher education
institution. In the educational space of a higher
education institution, the development of
emotional intelligence is facilitated by soft skills,
mets skills, and hard skills at the level (on a 10-
point scale):
9–10 points – 13% of respondents;
7–8 points – 35% of respondents;
5–6 points – 27% of respondents;
3–4 points – 13% of respondents;
1–2 points – 4% of respondents.
During the training, it was suggested to assess the
level of development of such skills as self-
analysis on a 10-point scale. 70% of the
respondents rated it by 6-10 points, and 30% of
the respondents – by 2-5 points.
Questions to find out the opinion of the
respondents regarding the level of development
of such skills as originality and creativity in them
gave the following answers:
9–10 points –17% of respondents;
8–7 points – 42% of respondents;
6–5 points – 29% of respondents;
1–4 points – 20% of respondents.
In response to the question regarding the
assessment of the level of development in the
educational process of a higher education
institution, such a skill as the ability to study,
results were obtained indicating that the majority
of respondents rate the development of such a
skill quite highly. These are 76% of respondents
who gave 6-10 points, and 24% of respondents –
2-5 points.
The next question is aimed at clarifying the
development in the process of learning such a
skill as critical thinking. As for the level of
development in the educational space of critical
thinking respondents, the following results of the
distribution of respondents' evaluations were
obtained. The level distribution is as follows:
6–10 points – 75% of respondents;
2–5 points – 25% of respondents.
Questions were proposed regarding the
development of analytical thinking in the
educational process. In the course of the
educational process, the respondents evaluated
its development in this way. The level
distribution is as follows:
6-8 points – 60% of respondents;
2–5 points – 20% of respondents;
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9–10 points by 20% of respondents.
As for the development of self-organization
skills in the educational process, which is
suggested by the next question, the following
results of the distribution of respondents'
evaluations were obtained. The level distribution
is as follows:
6–10 points – 80% of respondents;
2–5 points – 20% of respondents.
It was proposed to assess the skills of stress
resistance and flexibility. We received the
answers of the respondents according to the equal
distribution as follows:
8–10 points – 43% of respondents;
5–7 points – 33% of respondents;
1–4 points – 24% of respondents.
Respondents could choose several answers to the
question "Name the necessary skills that, in your
opinion, will be necessary in your professional
activity." The majority of respondents believe
that the following skills will be needed in
professional activities:
− communication skills – 89% of respondents;
− ability to solve complex problems – 88% of
respondents;
− analytical thinking – 85% of respondents;
− stress resistance and flexibility – 80% of
respondents;
− self-organization – 78% of respondents;
− critical thinking – 77% of respondents.
To the question "What skills would you most like
to develop?" respondents could choose several
answer options. The answers received are as
follows: the respondents would rather develop
such skills as:
− critical thinking – 62% of respondents;
− stress resistance and flexibility – 58% of
respondents;
− adaptability – 59% of respondents;
− emotional intelligence and communication
skills – 42% of respondents;
− ability to learn – 41% of respondents.
To the question "What ways can contribute to the
effective development of students' necessary soft
skills, mets skills, and hard skills?". The majority
of respondents believe that the optimal ways to
develop soft skills, mets skills, and hard skills
are:
1) their inclusion in professional disciplines,
i.e. polishing and end-to-end development of
required soft skills, mets skills, and hard
skills in the process of studying educational
disciplines – 80% of respondents;
2) introduction into the educational process of
institutions of higher education:
− trainings – 75% of respondents;
− elective disciplines – 67% of respondents;
− webinars – 55% of respondents;
− essays and portfolios – 53% of respondents;
− online courses – 50% of respondents;
− round tables – 49% of respondents;
− creative tasks – 49% of respondents;
− business and role-playing games – 40% of
respondents;
− group and individual projects – 40% of
respondents.
After analyzing the respondents' answers to the
questions of the questionnaire, it is possible to
identify the most optimal options for the
development of sought-after soft skills, mets
skills, and hard skills for those seeking higher
education.
The conducted empirical research confirmed the
need of higher education applicants for the
systematic and purposeful development of soft
skills, mets skills, and hard skills demanded by
the modern labor market.
Conclusions
The content is analyzed and the importance
and necessity of soft skills, mets skills, and
hard skills in today's world is shown. The types
of soft skills that are particularly important in
modern society are highlighted and the most
common classification of soft skills in the
public space is presented: this is the
distribution of soft skills according to the
following categories: social and
communicative skills (interpersonal skills,
communication skills, leadership, group work,
human social intelligence, ethics
communication, responsibility); cognitive
skills (problem-solving skills, critical
thinking, intellectual load management,
innovative thinking, information skills, time
management, self-study skills); components of
emotional intelligence and personality
attributes (creativity, emotional intelligence,
optimism, honesty, flexibility, empathy,
motivation).
Mets skills are considered as a basis for the
development, application, and improvement of
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/ March 2024
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http:// www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
knowledge and skills, as "higher order" skills
that provide an opportunity to improve and
understand the significance of other, already
existing competencies and allow to achieve the
set goal.
The importance and necessity of professional
hard skills – skills of working with machinery,
equipment, and devices have been established.
It has been proven that only a combination of
soft skills, mets skills, and hard skills should
and can become a cornerstone in the plan of
training specialists in institutions of higher
education.
Ways of effective formation of soft skills, mets
skills, and hard skills with the use of ICT are
shown.
It is noted that a necessary component in the
international academic environment is the
command of foreign languages.
The conducted empirical research confirmed
the need of higher education seekers for the
systematic and purposeful development of soft
skills, mets skills, and hard skills demanded by
the modern labor market and made it possible
to identify the most optimal options for higher
education seekers to develop the required
skills.
The development of mets skills, "higher-order"
skills that provide an opportunity to improve
and understand the significance of other,
already existing competencies and allow
achieving the set goal, requires further
research.
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