In the context of application-oriented higher education in the new era, measuring the professional development level of ideological and political counselor teachers based on competence can comprehensively and deeply grasp the teacher's educational status, providing reference guarantee for achieving the educational goal of cultivating morality and talents in universities. Starting from the responsibilities and responsibilities of ideological and political counselors in universities in the new era, as well as the challenges faced by their competence, the article analyzes the constituent factors of the competence of ideological and political counselors in applied universities, and proposes ways to enhance the competence of ideological and political counselors in applied universities in the new era.