Language competence as an element of professional competence of civil servants in Ukraine

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of language competence of civil servants as an important element of professional competence. In this context, the reform of the civil service institute, which is taking place under martial law, requires the training of a new generation of civil servants, the formation of a promising personnel reserve. We are talking about the creation of a highly professional public service corps - persons competent in a certain field, who possess the relevant knowledge and abilities that allow them to act effectively in the relevant field, and with the help of highly developed language competence - to expand the communicative space.On the basis of the studied material, it was established that the required level of professional competence of a civil servant is possible only if he has an appropriate level of linguistic and communicative competence, which is manifested in the fluent command of the state language.The influence of the state language policy on the formation of language competences of civil servants is of great importance. The reforms that are currently taking place in the state regarding the establishment at the legislative level of the use of the English language as the language of international communication, as a language whose knowledge is a mandatory condition for a significant number of civil service positions, indicate the direction of the formation of language competence of candidates for civil service positions. In Ukraine’s aspirations to become part of the European family, overcoming the language barrier is an important task. And therefore, the mandatory command of one of the official languages of the Council of Europe, especially English, as a requirement for persons applying for entry into the civil service, should be extended to positions of all categories of civil service, provided that such civil employees will at least periodically use this language in their official activities. It is also important to further improve the level of mastery of the English language and those officials who currently hold positions where knowledge of the language is a mandatory condition.