Peculiarities of developing the cognitive-prognostic component of future teachers’ soft skills

Introduction. In the modern vocational education system, there is a significant shortage of highly qualified and competent teachers who are able to teach students effectively and prepare them for real professional challenges. Convergence in education and industries places new demands on vocational teacher education, who must have developed soft skills necessary for professional development. A new methodology and procedures for their formation at university is needed, which is an important research problem in the field of quality training of mid-level specialists for the modern labor market and ensuring the competitiveness of graduates. The purpose of the study is to identify the characteristic features of developing cognitive-prognostic component of future teachers’ soft skills. Materials and Methods. The study follows the creative-prognostic and personal-narrative approaches. Through theoretical methods, the essence, structure, and content of soft skills for vocational teachers were identified and described: the method of conceptual, terminological and comparative analysis, content analysis, discursive reflection, system analysis, and modeling. In order to test the effectiveness of cognitive-prognostic component of soft skills development, a number of empirical methods were used, in particular: observation, questioning, testing, expert assessment and statistical methods for processing the data. Results. The article discusses theoretical and technological aspects of soft skills development that ensure training of competitive mid-level professional for the labor market. In order to build the structure of future vocational teachers’ professionalism, the authors identified its functional components. Attention is focused on the new methodology and procedure of their formation at university, providing a predictive vision and a creative approach, i.e. combining the ideas of creativity and flexible forecasting in the uncertain world. The research significance is presented by the data obtained during analytical work, which made it possible to identify a number of essential structural components of future teachers’ professionalism. The analysis of modern research trends highlights the cognitive-prognostic component of soft skills as a significant one for further training of competitive mid-level professionals for the labor market, corresponding to current challenges, the development of technologies using digital resources and artificial intelligence. Conclusions. It has been found that the formation of future vocational teachers’ soft skills based on the use of innovative forms, methods and means of forecasting and creative management will improve the efficiency of the educational process at university and ensure further professional development. In order to ensure efficient preparation of future vocational teachers, it is necessary to develop teaching procedures for implementing the cognitive-prognostic component of soft skills, including lean thinking and project and process management. In conclusion, the authors emphasize the significant role of the cognitive-prognostic component of preparing competitive vocational teachers able to cope with modern challenges in the labor market.