Introduction. The article is devoted to one of the significant problems of modern domestic higher education - the problem of improving the quality level of training of future economists of higher educational institutions for professional activity in the field of social entrepreneurship. The substantiation of the research problem is legitimately carried out within the framework of the phenomenological meaning of such basic concepts as "social entrepreneurship", "practice-oriented training", "activity-competence" approach. Analyzing the first concept, the authors actualized the main essential characteristics of social entrepreneurship, defined the basic principles of professional activity in this field. Materials and methods. The analysis of scientific and methodological literature on the subject under consideration, comparison, systematization, generalization, research of relevant documentation were used in the work. The analysis of the problem chosen for study in this article requires the categorical development of a conceptual series reflecting the relevant subject field of research. The basic concept is the concept of social entrepreneurship. Results and discussion. The article proves that the high efficiency of training future economists for entrepreneurship in the social sphere is due to the orientation of such training on the methodological significance of the practice-oriented approach. Conclusion. The high importance of preparing future economists for social entrepreneurship in the modern socio-economic reality determines the essential importance and necessity of qualitative transformation of the purposeful work of relevant educational organizations to form students' professional readiness to carry out this kind of activity. One of the basic mechanisms for improving the quality of the work of universities and faculties of economics in this direction is the practice-oriented training of future economists in the field of social and entrepreneurial activity.