Professional activity aimed at solving social problems of various social actors (people of different ages, different social groups, vulnerable groups of the population, etc.) does not lose its relevance in Ukrainian society. Currently, there is a deficit in highly skilled social workers who could professionally carry out social and socio-pedagogical activities. This is explained by the fact that the professional training of specialists in sociological specialties (social pedagogue and social worker) in our country has a rather short history, and some areas of activity are not sufficiently clear. The purpose of the study is theoretical and empirical analysis of the causes of the emergence of vocational training of social workers and social educators in foreign countries and their contemporary development. The author reveals different approaches to the interpretation of the definition of “socionomic professions” and explains why it is the profession of social worker and social teacher that he considers sociological. The methodology of the research is based on the principles of a competent approach to the concept of vocational training of social workers and social pedagogues, the disclosure of functional interrelationships “socium and personality”, “socium and professional”, “socium and civilization”. The article calls the reasons for the emergence of a profession in the field of social work and social education (social pedagogy), highlights the events and dates with which foreign and domestic scholars associate the emergence and emergence of new professions, “social worker” and “social educator / pedagogue”. The author shows why there is a confusion even at the level of the concepts of “social work”, “social education”, “social pedagogy”, gives examples of the designation of socionomic professions in European countries.