The article is devoted to the formation of personnel potential of customs authorities. The conditions for the formation of professional and general cultural (universal) competencies within the framework of federal state educational standards of higher education in the preparation of students in the specialty "Customs" are analyzed. The authors have developed organizational and methodological recommendations for the formation of the emotional competence of university students, as well as officials of customs authorities, which involve improving the methodology for individualizing education at the university. Formed educational and methodological support for the process of training students studying in the specialty "Customs" at the Samara State Technical University, which includes variable tasks developed on the basis of the contextual ap-proach and methods of individualization of education at the university.