The study reveals the relation between the “Self-concept” and a contest of professional skills for teachers, which indicates the compliance of the “Self-concept” components with the criteria for assessing professional skills of a teacher. Such compliance allows us to consider contests of professional skills as a means of improving teachers’ qualification. The relevance of the research issue is due to the growing public attention to contests of professional skills, and this is the reason why such contests are of significant importance for teachers as representatives of a socially vital and in-demand profession in modern Russia. The results of the study are presented in the form of a diagram showing the relation between “Self-concept” levels and the corresponding criteria for assessing professional skills of a teaching staff using the example of the contest “Preschool Teacher of the Year”. It allows to lay out priorities in upgrading skills of a teaching staff taking into account their individual characteristics. The results of the research demonstratethat contests of professional skills are universal for upgrading teaching skills.