SKILLS INDEX AS AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO MANAGING SPECIALIST QUALIFICATIONS

In today’s conditions, we can observe distinctive features of soft and hard skills, which are presented for specialists of different professions. The purpose of the article is to develop an innovative approach to managing specialist qualifications by defining a skills index. Based on this goal, the paper solves the following research tasks of the article: - generalization of research to substantiate the characteristics and components of soft, hard, self and digital skills of a specialist; - substantiation of the conceptual foundations of the specialist skills index to determine the level of knowledge and skills. Professionals across various industries often wonder what essential skills are needed to grow and prosper in business. Debates continue about the choice between collaboration, adaptability, or professionalism with technical skills. The development of personal and professional skills through education, training and meaningful work are key factors in the economic success of the state, individual well-being and social cohesion. The methodological foundation of this study relies on a systematic approach, enabling the examination of a specialist’s skills index. To calculate this index, it’s imperative to construct a questionnaire comprising four skill groups: soft, hard, self, and digital. This will allow us to summarize the results and make calculations. Skills enumerated in the questionnaire are appraised for their importance via expert evaluation method. The list of skills and the weighting criterion should be adjusted for a particular study. The skills index of a specialist will range from a minimum of 0.5 to a maximum of 1. Lower values of this index indicate a lack of necessary skills, and it is also possible to see in which group of skills there are «bottlenecks». After assessing the skills index, specialists, experts, or employees are divided into three conventional sectors: blue, yellow, and pink. The Blue sector includes people who have a wide range of skills (the index is greater than 0.5). Once in this sector, employees receive many benefits, such as bonuses, social packages, gifts, etc. This area continues to be actively developed. The «pink sector» encompasses people with an index value below 0.5, typically representing critical limits due to minimal skill levels. The intermediate sector consists of «promising employees» who constitute potential reserves and are actively engaged in developing their personal talents and abilities. It is undeniable that a well-formed set of soft, hard, self, and digital skills in a professional activity will ensure competitiveness in the labor market not only presently but also in the future.