The article is devoted to the problem of formation and development of competencies in the field of interpersonal interaction in the process of training specialists for the service sector. The high level of client orientation of the service industries of the economy determines the special importance of the skills of effective interaction of employees with clients, which determines the need for future specialists to develop these skills in the process of university training. Functional analysis of interpersonal relations is carried out on the basis of revealing their original goals. It was established that interpersonal relations in the system «specialist in the service sector − the client» have four main goals: business objectives, influence, establishing social realities and emotional exchange. The factors influencing the nature of the established relationships between specialists in the service sector and clients are revealed: the individual characteristics of people, the perception of people by each other, the interests of people and the degree of their coherence, the emotional state of people coming into contact. The characteristic of the main components of the effective interpersonal interaction of workers in the service sector and clients is determined to identify the directions for the formation of appropriate competencies for future specialists in the service sector: the ability to understand the client, to clarify for himself/ herself what his/ her needs, claims and expectations are; the ability to build interpersonal relationships on the basis of cooperation; the ability to control emotions; developed emotional intelligence.