In this article the popularity of the concept of competence in higher vocational education is explained and the most important issues in this field are discussed. In particular, the vagueness of the term and the problems in defining job and training profiles are explained. Then the design of competence-based education is discussed. The paper ends by mentioning some subjects that are relevant to the future of competence-based education. Competence-based education is a catch-all word concealing many different forms of education. It is mostly used for individual courses and much less for curricula although, seen from the point of view of competence, this could be the most interesting level. Research into the effectiveness--and content--of competence-based education is sparse and it is important to subject the claims of competence-based advocates to further investigation. (Contains 1 table.)