The dissertation is devoted to the training of agronomists on the basis of the competency approach. Higher agricultural education and agricultural enterprises of different types interact, enrich each other. Agricultural production brings in higher education desire to work effectively and purposefully. Thus, higher agricultural education institutions are trying to constantly improve their work, engage in teaching and research activities of the best specialists use the latest technology and training tools. In turn, higher agricultural education enriches the world of new knowledge, the results of basic and applied scientific research, humanistic ideas. The main factor in the formation of professional thinking, creative activity is the quality of agricultural education as a result of value to the target. Improving the quality of future specialist provides individualized learning process taking into account personal qualities of students and changing nature of the modern labor market. The study specified the concept of "training of agronomist" (a specially organized activities of the faculty, aimed at developing students of professional agronomists and scientific knowledge, skills, philosophical beliefs, moral norms, professionally significant qualities), "professional competence of agronomist"(multidimensional, integrative education including psychological (understanding and awareness of their own activities) and the theoretical and practical (the acquisition of significant professional knowledge and skills) professional commitment to the activity, the ability to practically solve professional problems effectively, carry out professional activities). Competence, in comparison with the concepts of "knowledge, skills" considered as part of the individual, based on values, direction, knowledge, experience, needs both during training and beyond, and is to mobilize knowledge, experience, activity relationships in a particular situation to perform professional tasks. The criteria (motivational, cognitive, activity) with appropriate parameters and levels (reproductive, receptive-productive, productive, constructive-productive) of formation of professional competence agronomists are considered. The study determined levels of the educational conditions (taking into account the characteristics of professional work in training the future agriculturist; direction of the educational process of professional competence agronomist, the formation of professionally significant qualities of future agriculturist) to facilitate the implementation of the competency approach to training future agronomists from considering the identified levels. Experimental investigation was carried out in two stages (of the primary and molding). The latter consisted of four sub-stages: preparatory, operational and activity, controlling and correcting, summarizing. The study lasted from 2007 to 2012 and covered 971 individual. The model of professional training of agronomists based on the competency approach is worked out. Experimental data confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed model.
