THE ESSENCE AND STRUCTURE OF SOFT SKILLS OF THE FUTURE OFFICER OF THE NATIONAL GUARD OF UKRAINE

Introduction. Today, the military units of the National Guard of Ukraine are fulfilling atypical functions for peacetime, including participation in the implementation of measures of the legal regime of martial law and involvement in territorial defense tasks. New conditions of such an environment include: an increase in the average age of subordinate personnel, which often exceeds the age of graduates of higher military educational institutions; the necessity to make quick decisions in conditions of uncertainty; increased responsibility for the subordinate personnel, their lives, and health, and so on. These changes draw the attention of educational process organizers to reviewing the achievements of the educational program outcomes for future officers, which are associated with the formation of soft skills. Purpose. To define the essence and structure of soft skills of future officers of the National Guard of Ukraine. Methods. Analysis of practical issues, recent research, and publications; tabular method; summarizing the results of the conducted research. Results. The essence and structure of soft skills of future officers of the National Guard of Ukraine have been determined based on the results of the conducted research. Originality. Under the soft skills of future officers of the National Guard of Ukraine, their ability to be leaders who organize the achievement of professional results by effectively communicating, working productively in a team, identifying problems, determining possible solutions, and making rational decisions to solve problems using a system of views, norms, values, theoretical knowledge, and practical experience is proposed. Conclusion. Soft skills necessary for the formation of future officers of the National Guard of Ukraine (communication skills, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, teamwork, lifelong learning skills, information analysis skills, ethics, morality, and professionalism, leadership abilities) have been grouped and defined. Further research will be dedicated to: refining the criteria, indicators, and levels of development of soft skills in future officers of the National Guard of Ukraine; modeling the process of professional training, which involves the formation of soft skills in future officers of the National Guard of Ukraine considering identified and theoretically grounded pedagogical conditions; experimental verification of the effectiveness of pedagogical conditions for the formation of soft skills in future officers of the National Guard of Ukraine.