The article is devoted to the study of the importance of communicative competence in the professional activity of future psychologists. It is noted that the effectiveness of the professional development of specialists is determined not only by the availability of the necessary professional knowledge and skills, but also by the availability of special abilities and personal characteristics that provide flexibility and dynamism of professional conduct, independence in finding and mastering the necessary new information and new professional experience . One of the most important and significant stages in the process of professional formation of the individual as a future professional is the period of study in institutions of higher education. It is indicated that it is in the course of vocational training that the so-called primary mastering of the profession takes place, the young man's vital and philosophical position is determined. Therefore, it is important to create such conditions for the educational process, which would correspond to the features and patterns of not only the student's personal development, but also his professional development as a professional. It is pointed out that the main task of professional development of future psychologists at the stage of vocational training is the formation of a professional orientation, the content of which should be manifested in their striving for successful mastery of the curriculum, the focus on the effective application of the acquired professional knowledge and skills and in striving to develop those abilities , which allow not only to successfully master the profession, but also to improve in it. The specificity of the professional activity of the psychologist puts forward a number of requirements to the personality of students regarding the development of personal qualities and abilities, among which the special importance is the availability of communicative abilities, in particular effective possession of verbal and non-verbal communication methods, the ability to come into contact, and to show empathic abilities towards the interlocutor. Based on the analysis of literary data, the concept of communicative competence is disclosed. The features of the manifestation of communicative competence in the professional work of a psychologist are revealed. It was revealed that for the formation of the communicative competence of future psychologists at the stage of professional training, it is necessary to implement a number of tasks and conditions, the most important of which are, firstly, mastering the theory of professional communication; second, the entry into technology of the process of professional communication and interaction; third, the formation of communication skills; fourth, awareness of the value of the future profession of a psychologist. On the basis of theoretical analysis, it was concluded that the formation of communicative competence in future psychologists during professional development at the stage of vocational training presupposes not only the assimilation of the set of necessary professional communicative knowledge and skills, but also their readiness to adequately and effectively use them during the execution of various kind of professional tasks. The presented results of the empirical research testify to the insufficient level of development of communicative competence among future psychologists, which points to the urgency of introducing a variety of socio-psychological trainings to the learning process aimed at mastering communication skills by students, increasing their emotional sensitivity, empathy, psychological atmosphere in the academic group, which, of course, will be important for the effective professional development of future psychologists. Key words: professional formation, vocational training, future psychologists, communicative competence, communicative knowledge, skills.