Transformation of soft and hard skills of shipping specialists and improvement of the educational process

Purpose. To establish the prerequisites and justify the directions of change in the soft and hard skills of human resources of the global maritime industry and to identify the current tasks of forming the skills of Ukrainian seafarers. Methodology. The data analysis method indicated that Ukrainian seafarers form a significant share of the command staff of the merchant fleets of the EU. Logical analysis has shown that this not only demonstrates the success of Ukrainian maritime education, but is also a factor in the country’s loss of human capital. The qualitative analysis method confirmed the break in the trend of diversification of work functions and competencies of seafarers (WFCS). The comparative analysis method allowed identifying the features of the formation of skills of Ukrainian seafarers Findings. The need to take into account the rate of change in seafarers’ skills and the need to coordinate it with the rate of change of other influencing factors is indicated. The factors that form the differences in the rate of change in the competencies of seafarers of the Ukrainian and world merchant fleets are indicated. The trend of diversification WFCS of seafarers is indicated. The high level of adaptability of personnel training in the Ukrainian system of higher maritime education and its impact on the provision of personnel for the Ukrainian and world merchant fleets is indicated. Originality. The competence gap in the Ukrainian and global maritime industries and the trend of this gap widening have been identified. It has been proven that this creates a permanent loss of human capital by the country on a significant scale. Practical value. The features of the formation of the skills of Ukrainian seafarers and the challenges they form for the country’s fleet are indicated, which will allow the introduction of measures to neutralize negative impacts.