Elective courses as a way of implementing competence approach in education

The role of elective courses in the system of general and higher professional education is discussed. The main types and possibilities of elective courses are dened. Key problems of teaching these courses are also discussed. Themes of elective courses are proved to account for the labor market demands in education within the context of competence approach. The focus is on the dominating role of the project method in elective course organization as it provides vast possibilities to form general cultural, general professional and professional competences of higher school students. Research results of students evaluation of the importance of elective courses for their personal and professional development are presented