The relationship of personal qualities and universal skills for successful career building for students of psychological and pedagogical areas of training at the university

Korneeva Yana Aleksandrovna ORCID: 0000-0001-9118-9539 PhD in Psychology Associate professor, Department of Psychology, Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after MV Lomonosov 163002, Russia, Arkhangel'skaya oblast', g. Arkhangel'sk, ul. Nab. Severnoi, 17 amazonkca@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Shakhova Lyudmila Ivanovna ORCID: 0000-0003-1990-6825 PhD in Psychology Associate professor, Department of Psychology, Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov 163002, Russia, Arkhangel'skaya Oblast' oblast', g. Arkhangel'sk, nab. Severnoi Dviny, 17 79600001472@yandex.ru Other publications by this author     Kirichek Mariya Aleksandrovna ORCID: 0000-0002-1403-1639 Expert, Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov 163002, Russia, Arkhangelsk region, Arkhangelsk, nab. Severnaya Dvina, 17 masha.tynkina@yandex.ru Korekhova Mariya Vladimirovna PhD in Psychology Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov 163002, Russia, Arkhangelsk region, Arkhangelsk, nab. Severnaya Dvina, 17 mkorexova@mail.ru Simonova Natal'ya Nikolaevna ORCID: 0000-0001-5658-6811 Doctor of Psychology Professor, Department of Labor and Engineering Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University M.V. Lomonosov 119991, Russia, Moscow region, Moscow, Leninskie Gory str., 1 n23117@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Venckute Marina Sergeevna Senior Lecturer of the Department of Psychology at Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov  163002, Russia, Arkhangelsk region, Arkhangelsk, Leningradsky ave., 40, office 301 venckute@bk.ru Other publications by this author

Sheveleva Ol'ga Sergeevna Master, Department of Psychology, Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov 17 Severnaya Dvina str., Arkhangelsk, Arkhangelsk region, 163002, Russia sheveleva.o@edu.narfu.ru

Introduction. According to the results of a survey of students enrolled in higher education programs as part of the Monitoring of the Economics of Education conducted by the HSE in the 2020/2021 academic year, 38% of respondents consider "soft" skills (stress tolerance, the ability to take responsibility, the ability to learn and communication skills) to be among the skills necessary for successful employment, along with professional ones ^[1]. At the same time, from 11 to 24% of students report a lack of development of these skills.

It should be noted that the importance of social, "soft" skills was indicated in studies conducted by Harvard University, the Carnegie Endowment and the Stanford Research Center in 1918. In this series of studies, 1.5 thousand engineers were interviewed, who indicated the greater importance of personal qualities and social skills for success in professional activities than technical knowledge and skills; then seven thousand engineers ranked six groups of qualities according to the degree of importance for professional success (for 94% of respondents, personal qualities came to the fore over technical knowledge and skills). The general conclusion was that 85% of success in work depends on well-developed social skills and skills of working with people, and only 15% - on technical skills and knowledge ("hard" skills) ^[2].

In their study, L. Fernandez-Sanz and co-authors, using the method of expert evaluation with the involvement of 70 experts, identified a list of the 10 most important soft-skills for the success of professional graduates, regardless of their professional field, including the following: responsibility, self-confidence, awareness of ethical standards, communication skills from the position of the recipient of information, communication skills from the position of the sender of information, flexibility, teamwork, initiative, ability to plan and apply innovations and creativity ^[3]. Further, this list of skills was evaluated by 123 experts (from 45 different countries) from among the coordinators of student exchange programs, coordinators of researchers and teachers in international projects. As a result, the five most important interpersonal skills necessary for professionals to work successfully in a multinational environment are identified: responsibility, communication skills from the position of the sender of information, the ability to work in a team, awareness of ethical behavior and the ability to plan ^[3].

The simplest definition of soft skills belongs to J. To Heckman: "soft skills predict success in life." The author has identified a causal relationship between soft skills and personal and professional achievements of people ^[4]. Soft skills have various names: cross-cultural competencies, key competencies, supra-professional competencies, 21st century skills, life skills, future work skills, skills for social progress, social skills, etc. ^{[5, 6]}. In this study, the concept of "universal skills for successful career building" is used, which means skills and methods of action that are developed in a specially organized learning process and through the subject's own life experience, ensuring successful interaction with others and solving problem situations at all stages of career building, regardless of the specifics of professional activity.

There are different approaches to classifying "soft" skills, one of which divides them into two groups: 1) self-oriented or intrapsychic, 2) others-oriented or interpersonal skills. The first group of skills can be characterized by the fact that a person can develop them independently, while the second group combines skills that can only be improved in relationships with other people. In other words, these groups can be called personal and social skills. Personal skills mostly correspond to cognitive skills, and social skills relate to relationships with other people. Examples of personal skills are the ability and desire to continue learning, as well as the ability to plan and achieve goals. Basic social skills can be defined in communication, listening ability, negotiation, problem solving, decision-making and self-confidence ^{[7; 6]}.

Within the framework of the World Economic Forum in Davos, 8 key skills of interest to organizations from different sectors and economies were identified (Table 1) ^{[8, p. 67]}. The first group of skills refers to soft skills and includes ethics, self-efficacy and working with other people. For representatives of the field of education and training, a large role is assigned to the second and third groups of skills.

Regarding business expectations regarding the evolution of the importance of skills for its employees in the next five years (2023-2027), the following skills should be highlighted: creative thinking, analytical thinking, technological literacy, curiosity and lifelong learning, resilience, flexibility and dexterity, systems thinking, artificial intelligence and big data, motivation and self-awareness, talent management and focus on service and customer service ^{[8, p. 39]}. Cognitive skills are becoming increasingly important the fastest, reflecting the growing importance of solving complex problems in the workplace. Actively developing new technologies (artificial intelligence), redefine the requirements for employees, which is why employers pay more attention to the "soft" skills of employees. These skills allow companies to respond to changes and automation, and enable rapid adaptation to changes.

Table 1 Key skills of interest to organizations from different sectors and economies ^{[8, p. 67]}

The importance of the development of universal skills for the successful career of future teachers is noted in the works of L.A. Shkutina et al. ^[9], O.V. Shatunova, A.V. Gizatullina ^[10].

I.K. Tsalikova and S.V. Pakhotina, based on the analysis of international and domestic scientific publications devoted to the formation of soft skills of students and employees of various organizations, identified the following problems in this direction: difficulties in assessing skills in the learning process, the need for greater consideration of the development of universal skills in the development of curricula in educational organizations and the involvement of employer representatives for these purposes due to the discrepancy between their expectations and the actual formation of graduates' skills during training ^[11]. A survey of 1,046 employers in the Czech Republic showed that the key criteria for hiring a new employee from among graduates include flexibility and adaptability, willingness to learn and loyalty. At the same time, according to graduates, the most important skills for employment are foreign language proficiency, communication skills and a desire to learn ^[12]. M.V. Gruzdev and co-authors found that more important universal skills for university graduates, according to employers, are systemic and critical thinking, skills in the field of health and safety, communication, self-organization and self-education, as well as teamwork and leadership ^[13].

T. Chamorro-Premuzic et al. There is a greater expression of universal skills among students of humanities than among students of social and natural sciences. Researchers have proved a direct relationship between academic success and the development of "soft" skills in students ^[14].

R. Gaines, M. Mohammed emphasize the importance of developing universal skills within academic subjects, since their formation outside the subject context is ineffective, which requires a revision of the content of curricula and disciplines ^[15]. This is also noted in the works of other researchers ^[16-18].

The analysis of scientific research shows the importance of assessing and developing universal skills of students, while there is a lack of research on students in psychological and pedagogical areas of training, which determines the relevance of this study.

The subject of the study is the relationship of personal qualities and universal skills for the successful career building of students of psychological and pedagogical areas of training at the university.

The purpose of the study is to identify and describe the features of the expression of universal skills for successful career building and their relationship with personal qualities in students of psychological and pedagogical areas of training at the university.

Research hypotheses:

1.                 We assume that there are features of the expression of universal behavioral skills for successful career building among students, depending on the course and direction of training. The universal skills of students studying psychology and undergraduates will be more pronounced.

2.                 We believe that the expression of universal skills for successful career building is interrelated with the personal qualities of students.

2.1. The development of individual psychological skills is more associated with the severity of emotional stability and self-control, and socio-psychological skills – with extraversion, communicative, organizational and leadership abilities.

2.2.           There are personal qualities that affect the expression of all universal skills for successful career building among students.

Theoretical and methodological basis of the study: classification of "soft" skills by Cimatti, B. Engelberg, S., approach to the study of personal traits by McCrae and P. Costa, methods of coping with stress by R.Lazurus, S. Folkman. The study of the communicative and organizational abilities of the personality of V.V. Sinyavsky, V.A. Fedoroshin, leadership abilities of E. Zharikov, E. Krushelnitsky.

Scientific novelty of the study: based on the systematization of flexible skills for successful career building, a tool for assessing the frequency of manifestation of universal skills in students' behavior has been developed and tested, new data on the development of universal skills among students of pedagogical and psychological areas of training at the university have been obtained, personal qualities of students contributing to the development of universal skills necessary for successful employment and career building have been established.

Materials and methods. The study was conducted in January – February 2022 on the basis of the Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov. The study involved 107 students of psychological and pedagogical areas of training at the university, including 19 boys and 89 girls aged 17 to 24 years (average age 19.8 ± 0.16 years).  Course distribution: 57 people (53%) – 1st year students, 36 people (33.6%) – 2nd and 3rd year students, 14 people (13.1%) – 4th and 5th year students. Distribution by training areas: 65% study in the direction of "psychology", 16% - pedagogical direction, profile "biology" and 19% - pedagogical direction, profile "experimental mathematics and computer science". Participants participated in the study on a voluntary basis and signed an informed consent.

To study the universal skills of students' behavior, the authors' collective developed the questionnaire "Universal skills for successful career building" (authors-developers: Korneeva Ya.A., Simonova N.N., Korekhova M.V., Shakhova L.I., Korneeva A.V., Kirichek M.A., Yurieva A.S.).

The questionnaire is aimed at assessing on a scale of frequency of manifestations in behavior of the basic skills necessary for students to successfully build a career and employment. The skill set is determined by the analysis of approaches to the classification of soft-skills. The indicators in the questionnaire were selected based on the assessments of 17 experts from among psychologists and managers of personnel management services. After the statistical analysis, significant indicators were selected and a questionnaire was developed, which was tested in this study. In this connection, psychological testing methods with relevant scales have been selected for each indicator of the questionnaire (skill). Respondents are supposed to evaluate the frequency of 96 indicators in the behavior of universal skills on a 4-point scale: 1 – never; 2 – sometimes; 3 - in most cases; 4 – always. The structure of the questionnaire is presented in Table 2.

Table 2 – Structure of the questionnaire of universal behavioral skills for successful career building of students

The following methods were used to assess the personal qualities of students:

1.                 The five-factor personality questionnaire "Big Five" by R. McCrae and P. Costa. ^[19] adapted by V.E. Orla, A.A. Rukavishnikov, I. G. Senin ^[20].

2. Questionnaire of coping methods by R.Lazurus, S. Folkman ^[21] in adaptation by T.L. Kryukova, E.V. Kuftyak, M.S. Zamyshlyaeva ^[22].

3.                 Methodology for assessing the communicative and organizational abilities of a person V.V. Sinyavsky, V.A. Fedoroshin. 

4.                 Methods of diagnostics of leadership abilities of E. Zharikov, E. Krushelnitsky.

Statistical data processing was carried out using the SPSS Statistics 26.00 software package using descriptive statistics, two-stage cluster, correlation and multidimensional analysis of variance.

Stages of research:

1. To identify and describe the severity of different types of universal behavioral skills for successful career building among students of psychological and pedagogical fields of study.

2. Identify and describe the features of the expression of universal behavioral skills for successful career building among students of various training profiles.

3. To identify and describe the features of the expression of universal behavioral skills for successful career building among students of psychological and pedagogical directions studying at various courses.

4. To identify and describe the relationship between the expression of universal behavioral skills for successful career building and personal characteristics of students in psychological and pedagogical areas of training at SAFU.

The results of the study. At the first stage of the study, the severity of universal skills for successful career building among students was assessed (Fig. 1).

Note: 1-2 points low level; 2.1-2.7 points average level; 2.8-3.5 points above average; 3.6-4 points high level

Fig. 1 Formation of universal behavioral skills for successful career building of students

As can be seen from the data in Figure 1, most of the socio-psychological universal skills are formed in students at an above-average level (leadership, teamwork, time management and interpersonal communication). At the same time, conflict management and self-presentation skills are presented only at the average level, which indicates the need for their development. The skills of successful self-presentation are very important when passing an interview, as well as when adapting to a new team. Their insufficient severity can lead to difficulties in finding employment. The conflict management skill presupposes a high level of communication skills that allows you to successfully resolve difficult situations with colleagues and clients, which is certainly important not only for successful entry into the profession, but also for the performance of professional duties of representatives of professions such as "man-man".

Regarding individual psychological universal skills, there is insufficient expression (at the average level) of emotion and stress management skills and flexibility - adaptability, while problem–solving skills and professional ethics are formed at a sufficient level (above average). It should be noted that the three skills that have insufficient formation (emotion and stress management, flexibility – adaptability and conflict management) are closely interrelated and the development of one of them will contribute to the greater expression of the others. And also this fact may indicate that the surveyed students did not often get into emotionally loaded difficult situations of communication with other people or avoided participating in them, which on the one hand led to insufficient development of skills, and on the other hand, indicates insufficient training in effective behavior and response in these situations.

At the next stage of the study, differences in the assessment of students' universal skills were established depending on the direction of training and the course of study using two multidimensional analysis of variance. According to the data of multidimensional tests (Pillay trace 0.319, F=4.019 at p <0.001), statistically significant differences are observed in the severity of universal behavioral skills among students of various fields of training and various courses of study.  Table 3 shows the development of universal skills of students of different fields of study and different courses with statistically significant differences according to one-dimensional criteria.

Table 3 The severity of universal behavioral skills among students of various fields of training and various courses

As can be seen from the data in Table 3, statistically significant differences were revealed in the severity of emotion and stress management skills, self-presentation, leadership and problem solving among students of various fields of training. At the same time, these skills are more developed among students of psychological training areas, which may be due to the specifics of training: the presence of separate disciplines aimed at developing these skills, a large number of practice-oriented disciplines, experience of participation in the work of student psychological services, etc. For future specialists in the pedagogical sphere, the education program is more focused on the acquisition of professional competencies. The basics of entrepreneurship and project management included in the comprehensive module of the curriculum of future teachers contribute more to the development of teamwork and interpersonal communication skills.

Statistically significant differences in the severity of self-presentation, problem solving and conflict management among students enrolled in different courses have been established. We can observe the improvement of self-presentation and conflict management skills from the first to the fifth year of study. At the same time, despite their development from course to course, they do not reach the required level by the end of their studies, which shows the importance of their additional development. A different dynamic is noted with respect to the problem-solving skill, which is more pronounced in third-year students. First-year students enter a learning environment that is new and unfamiliar to them, face new requirements, teaching methods and academic challenges. As a result, they may have limited experience in solving problems and lack confidence in their abilities. However, as students progress through the curriculum and gain more practical experience, their problem-solving skills improve (which is confirmed by the results of the study). In the third year, they already have a certain level of knowledge and skills that they can apply to solving complex problems. The decrease in the severity of the skill in the final courses can be explained by the fact that students may not see the tasks they have to cope with as difficult for themselves, which is why other skills in demand are being developed, and not this skill.

At the next stage of the study, the interrelationships of universal skills for successful career building and personal qualities of students were determined using correlation analysis (using Spearman's rank coefficient), as a result of which two correlation pleiades were compiled (Fig. 2 and 3). In the correlation pleiades, only those personal characteristics that have statistically significant connections with the universal behavioral skills of students are noted.

Fig. 2 Correlation galaxy of interrelation of individual psychological universal skills for successful career building and personal qualities of students

The problem-solving skill is better formed in students with greater emotional stability, self-sufficiency, responsibility, understanding of others and sensitivity, as well as with frequent use of a problem-solving planning strategy. This indicates the importance of developing, on the one hand, self-confidence and responsibility, and, on the other, empathy and attentiveness towards others, because the activities of future psychologists and teachers are associated with great interpersonal communication, and involves the resolution of difficult situations and social problems.

The more self-control and volitional regulation of behavior are expressed and strategies for planning problem solving and finding social support are used more often, the more flexibility and adaptability skills are developed in students.

Stress management skills are more formed in students who are characterized by greater emotional stability, stability and comfort, self-criticism and frequent use of problem-solving strategies. It should be noted that the problem-solving strategy allows you to systematically overcome difficult situations that arise, find a conclusion from them in a timely manner and not spend a lot of time and effort on experiencing negative emotions. Emotional stability allows you to experience stressful states to a lesser extent due to greater self-confidence and positive self-esteem, the ability to accept realistically emerging circumstances.

The skills of professional ethics, manifested in compliance with ethical standards in the professional sphere, diligence, honesty and integrity in decision-making, greater loyalty to the organization, are more formed in students who are characterized by greater responsibility, attachment and positive attitude to other people, developed communicative abilities and less often using the escape-avoidance strategy.

Thus, the development of individual psychological universal skills in students is more associated with the development of emotional stability and self-control, the use of optimal coping strategies.

Fig. 3 Correlation galaxy of interrelation of socio-psychological universal skills for successful career building and personal qualities of students

            As can be seen from the data in Figure 3, the leadership skill is more developed among students with pronounced extraversion, self-control, responsibility, perseverance, dominance, understanding of others, self-sufficiency, leadership and communication abilities, as well as using coping strategy for problem solving.

            The more students' responsibility, self-control, organizational skills, emotional stability and self-sufficiency are expressed, as well as the more often a problem-solving planning strategy is used, the more developed their organizational skills and time management are.

            The more interpersonal communication skills are formed, the more extroversion, dominance, communicative abilities, emotional stability and self-sufficiency are characteristic of students, as well as those who use a coping strategy to plan a problem solution.

            Conflict management is more successful among students with more pronounced leadership and communication abilities, self-sufficiency and are focused on finding new experiences.

Self-presentation skills are more developed in students with pronounced emotional comfort, the ability to maintain an optimal state, as well as in those who are balanced and use a problem-solving planning strategy.

Thus, the development of socio-psychological universal skills among students is more associated with the development of extroversion, communicative and leadership abilities, emotional stability and self-control.

            At the next stage of the study, we suggested that it is possible to identify the personal qualities of students that contribute to a greater expression of all universal skills for successful career building. To test this assumption using a two-stage cluster analysis, all the surveyed students were divided into two clusters. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine statistically significant differences in the development of universal skills of students of the two clusters. According to the data of one-dimensional texts, differences were revealed for all universal skills (Table 3). The analysis of the data in Table 4 allowed us to classify the representatives of the first cluster as a group with a greater expression of all universal skills, and the second cluster as a group with a lesser expression of all universal skills.

Table 4 – Expression of universal skills for successful career building of students, taking into account their division into clusters

To identify the features of individual and personal qualities, coping strategies, leadership, organizational and communicative qualities of the representatives of the two groups studied, a multidimensional analysis of variance was applied. Table 5 shows only those parameters that have statistically significant differences among representatives of both groups.

Table 5 – Individual-personal, communicative, organizational, leadership qualities and coping strategies of students with greater and lesser expression of universal skills for successful career building

Statistically significant differences in the expression of such personal qualities as extroversion, self-control, emotional stability and expressiveness were found in the representatives of the two clusters. The higher the level of development of these qualities in students, the better their universal skills are formed. Statistically significant differences in communicative, organizational and leadership abilities, as well as the use of problem-solving planning strategies and positive reassessment among students of the two clusters were also revealed (their greater development among students with better formation of universal skills).

Extroversion is expressed at the average level in students with a greater formation of universal skills, while students of the second group are characterized by greater introversion. Extroverts are sociable and eager to communicate with other people, and when learning, they extract information from memory faster.

A high level of self-control of behavior is characteristic of representatives of both groups, while it is more pronounced among students with more well-formed universal skills. They are characterized by responsibility, conscientiousness, decency, conscientiousness. This allows you to achieve high results in your activities.

Students with a greater degree of universal skills are characterized by an average level of emotional stability, which manifests itself in self-sufficiency, self-confidence and emotional maturity. Representatives of the second cluster, on the contrary, are characterized by emotional instability, difficulties in controlling emotions and committing impulsive actions.

A high level of expressiveness is characteristic of representatives of both groups, expressed in openness to everything new and curiosity.

Communicative and organizational abilities are more characteristic of students with a greater formation of universal skills, while they are developed at an average level. What may be the reason for the insufficient development of a number of universal skills (conflict management and self-presentation).

Leadership abilities are developed at a low level among representatives of both groups, although they prevail among students with more well-formed universal skills.

Coping strategies for problem-solving planning and positive reassessment are expressed at a high level among representatives of both clusters. Both strategies contribute to the successful solution of stressful situations, as they allow them to resolve and rethink this experience, to draw conclusions for future events.

Discussion of the results. The conducted research allowed us to establish that a number of universal skills for successful career building among students of pedagogical and psychological training areas are insufficiently pronounced: stress management, flexibility, adaptability, self-presentation and conflict management. Self-presentation and conflict management skills are developed by students from the first to the final courses, other skills do not have such linear dynamics. These skills are of paramount importance for finding a job and adapting to a new workplace, and therefore it is necessary to provide additional measures for their development in the educational process.

Two studies conducted in Portugal and in the USA revealed a discrepancy between graduates' perceptions of the interpersonal communication skills they acquired in college and the skills needed in the workplace ^{[23, 24]}. Another study showed that graduates lack social skills, especially the communication skills necessary to achieve success in the workplace ^[25].

J. Bartel emphasized that "soft" skills, including verbal and nonverbal skills, allow individuals and teams to make informed critical decisions ^[26]. On the contrary, lack of social skills can lead to dissatisfaction, isolation, low self-confidence, melancholy and inability to cope with the situation ^[27].

E.M. Fleischmann in a study found that school teachers in South Africa with developed interpersonal communication skills were more successful at work ^[28].

M. Arat came to a similar conclusion that social skills benefit university students through creativity, problem solving, interpersonal communication, as well as writing and speaking skills before starting their careers, better preparing them for the inevitable problems they will face in their personal and professional lives ^[29]. Similar results were established by S.J. Rendevski and A. Abdelhadi: physics students at Higher Technological Colleges in the UAE with interpersonal communication skills demonstrate the best results ^[30]. Similarly, improving the interpersonal communication skills of Thai schoolteachers increased the efficiency of their work and led to an improvement in the learning outcomes of their students ^[31].

In their study, A. Alhouli and A. Al-Khayatt also point to the need for students to develop "soft" skills in different countries — Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Lithuania, Malaysia, Nigeria, Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, USA and Vietnam. The authors propose to pay more attention to the development of these skills among students of pedagogical directions, which can be done in several ways: early acquaintance and development of interpersonal communication skills (starting from the first year), emphasizing their importance for learning and working life; integration of various approaches to skill development in programs and activities for students; seminars or trainings that emphasize the importance of interpersonal skills for teachers and demonstrating how to incorporate them into their courses ^[32].

The first hypothesis of the study that there are features of the expression of universal behavioral skills for successful career building in students, depending on the course and direction of training; universal skills in students studying psychology and undergraduates will have greater severity, was partially confirmed. According to the results of the study, the skills of emotion and stress management, self-presentation, leadership and problem solving are more formed in psychology students, which is associated with the specifics of their training program and the availability of practice-oriented disciplines and activities aimed at developing "soft" skills.

The second hypothesis was also partially confirmed. Statistically significant connections of universal skills and personal qualities of students are established. The development of individual psychological universal skills in students is more associated with the development of emotional stability and self-control, the use of optimal coping strategies, and socio-psychological skills - with the development of extroversion, communicative and leadership abilities, emotional stability and self–control. With a reduced expression of these qualities, a greater number of measures are required to develop students' universal skills for successful career building.

As a result of the research, the personal qualities of students that contribute to the development of all universal skills are established. These include extroversion, self-control, emotional stability, expressiveness, communicative, organizational, leadership abilities, coping strategies for planning problem solving and positive reassessment.

The conducted research allowed us to confirm the need for the development of universal skills of students in pedagogical and psychological areas of training, as well as to identify the personal characteristics of students that contribute to their greater formation. As noted earlier, since the formation of universal skills outside the subject context is ineffective ^[15-18], a revision of the content of curricula is required to enable their development within the framework of academic disciplines and practices. For this purpose, the proposal of A. Alhouli and A. Al-Khayatt ^[32] on the need to work with teachers to increase their interest in the development of students' social skills in the learning process, help in finding opportunities to include them in the disciplines being read and special courses being conducted will be relevant.

The strengths of the study are the sample size, the complexity of assessing the skills and personality qualities of students of psychological and pedagogical areas of training at the university. The developed author's tool for assessing the frequency of manifestation of students' universal skills in behavior can be used not only for self-assessment by students, but also when conducting a 360-degree assessment, when teachers, curators, employer representatives, heads of practice bases are involved as assessment experts according to specified criteria and indicators. This will allow students to receive meaningful feedback and note their dynamics of development of universal skills for successful career building.

Despite the scientific novelty, the present study has a number of limitations. The study of only three areas of training within one university, the author's diagnostic tools. With further study, it is possible to expand the areas of training and compare universal skills in different universities in order to determine the relationship of skills development with the specifics of the training program. Additional study of the development of skills among undergraduates and specific activities affecting the development of individual skills is required, determining the most effective technologies and activities for the development of universal skills among undergraduates.

Conclusions. As a result of the study, it was found that the skills of emotion and stress management, flexibility, adaptability, self-presentation and conflict management are expressed at an average level, and the skills of leadership, teamwork, problem solving, interpersonal communication, time management / organizational skills, professional ethics are at an above average level among students of psychological and pedagogical areas of training in University.

Statistically significant differences were found in the severity of self–presentation skills, problem solving and conflict management among students of different courses, as well as in the severity of emotion and stress management skills, self-presentation, leadership and problem solving among students of various fields of training (a large degree of formation was revealed among psychology students).

The development of individual psychological universal skills among students of psychological and pedagogical areas of study at the university is more associated with the development of emotional stability and self-control, the use of optimal coping strategies, and socio-psychological skills - with the development of extroversion, communicative and leadership abilities, emotional stability and self–control.

Extroversion, self-control, emotional stability, expressiveness, communicative, organizational, leadership abilities, coping strategies for problem solving planning and positive reassessment contribute to the development of all universal skills for successful career building of students.