Perceived effects of competency-based training on the acquisition of professional skills

•Competency-based training seeks to match training programmes with the needs of industry.•This article explores students’ perceptions of CBT implementation on acquisition of professional skills.•Modular structure shows an indirect effect on professional skills through quality teaching and feedback.•CBT assessment requires a shift from routine tasks to broad sets of generic skills to enhance creativity.•Inadequate involvement of industry in CBT undermines authentic learning and acquisition of relevant skills.

The need to develop key competencies to meet the changing demands of industry has made the introduction of competency-based training (CBT) reforms in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system a priority in many countries. This article explores the views of polytechnic students in Ghana on the effect of CBT on the acquisition of competencies to perform professional tasks. The results show that the modular structure has indirect effects on the acquisition of skills through quality teaching and feedback. It is argued that assessment in CBT needs to move away from emphasising more on routine tasks towards the development of broad sets of generic skills and adaptable workforce.