A notable trend in recent years has been the introduction of competency-based training (CBT) in vocational education and training systems in many countries. Several CBT training programmes in Ghana have been accredited and quality assured. This article explores the perception of both students and lecturers towards CBT and examines factors that affect its implementation in Ghanaian polytechnics. It was revealed that industry and polytechnics themselves have not significantly influenced the implementation of CBT. As a result, few CBT features have been adopted in the programmes making the current practise of CBT in the polytechnics lag behind the policy standards. (Contains 2 figures and 2 tables.)