Globalization and rapid transformational amendments of society require the formation of modern professional competencies, leadership qualities and leadership potential from specialists of all spheres of society, including specialists of military specialties of the sector country’s security. Education, both formal and non-formal, plays a key role in the formation, development and improvement of professional competences, leadership qualities and leadership potential. It is formal education, thanks to the normative component of educational programs and the opportunity to choose an individual learning strategy through selective disciplines, that allows you to form a competitive specialist, mobile, with inherent professionally important qualities, a perspective outlook, culture, business acumen, the ability to analyze the production situation, ready to successfully solve everyday battles and professional tasks. The system of non-formal education, which can include the system of improving the qualifications of specialists (teachers, staff of institutions, etc.), can meet the needs of specialists in acquiring the best professional skills of the future in the labor market, soft, hard, meta skills. The aim of the study is to reveal the effectiveness of the development of professional competence, leadership qualities and leadership potential of specialists in military specialties of the security, protection, security sector and specialists of the law enforcement penitentiary system through the prism of the potential of formal and non-formal education of the experience of the National Technical University «Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute». The methodology is based jn reflects the interrelationship of methodological approaches (competent, systemic, acmeological, person-oriented) to the study of the process of development of the effectiveness of professional competence, leadership qualities and leadership potential of specialists in military specialties of the security, protection, security sector and specialists of the law enforcement penitentiary system through the prism of the potential of formal and non-formal education experience of the National Technical University «Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute» (hereinafter NTU «KhPI»). Scientific novelty. The conducted research allowed us to identify the potential of formal and non-formal education in the development of professional competence, leadership qualities and leadership potential of specialists in military specialties of the security, protection, security sector and specialists of the law enforcement penitentiary system in the conditions of the NTU «KhPI» for training specialists for educational programe 011 master’s level and advanced training through participation in the seminar «Modern Pedagogical Sciences in Education» at the International Pedagogical School. Conclusions. The results of the research confirmed the authors’ opinions regarding the importance, role, and influence of the potential of formal and nonformal education in the development of professional competence, leadership qualities, and leadership potential of specialists in military specialties of the security, protection, security sector, and specialists of the law enforcement and penitentiary system of Ukraine. It is the conducting of educational classes in the form of lectures, seminars, practice, trainings, pedagogical workshops that allow taking into account the principles of such scientific approaches as systemic, competent, acmeological, personal-oriented, encourage applicants to develop the level of professional competence, leadership qualities and leadership potential, will contribute to further improvement of professional knowledge, abilities and skills, development of professionally important qualities. Key words: military specialists, leadership qualities, leadership potential, penitentiary personnel, professional competence.
