When employees ask, “What’s next for me?” Here’s how HR and learning leaders are helping employees see their career path through competencies.

Employees often ask, “What’s next for me?” Yet many HR and learning leaders struggle to give a clear answer. In small and mid-size enterprises, limited resources, fewer promotion layers, and informal development processes can make career pathing feel like an impossible task. But without visibility into growth opportunities, employees may disengage, retention often suffers, and critical skill gaps widen.

The good news? By taking targeted, practical steps, organizations can help employees understand how to grow in their roles while ensuring the workforce has the skills and competencies it needs to succeed. Here’s how HR and learning leaders are helping employees see their career path through competencies.

What Are Career Pathing and Skill Progression?

Career pathing and skills progression are related, but not the same.

Career pathing is the structured process of helping employees understand the different roles, opportunities, and growth paths available to them within an organization — and what skills, competencies, or experiences they need to move from one role to the next.

Skill progression refers to the step-by-step development of an employee’s abilities over time — from beginner or foundational skills to intermediate competence to advanced expertise. It’s the idea that skills and competencies aren’t static — you build on them, deepen them, and apply them in increasingly complex ways as you grow in your role or prepare for the next one.

Essentially, career pathing shows employees where they can go and skill progression shows how they can get there.

Why Career Pathing and Skill Progression Matter

These two processes matter because clearly defined career paths and measurable skill progression give employees purpose, engagement, and confidence in their growth. Importantly, career growth doesn’t always mean a promotion. It can include lateral moves, deeper mastery in a role, or taking on new responsibilities.

A timely SHRM article points out the relevance of career paths and the growth of AI-driven career pathing in today’s workplace, saying, “As workplace expectations evolve, employees increasingly seek greater control over their career trajectories, demanding data-driven insights, personalized development opportunities, and flexible work models. Traditional career ladders are being replaced by dynamic, AI-driven career pathing, enabling employees to explore internal opportunities tailored to their skills and aspirations.”

Essentially, career pathing shows employees where they can go and skill progression shows how they can get there. 

With the structure provided by career pathing and skills progression, HR leaders, learning teams, managers and employees will be aligned to strategically close meaningful skill gaps and support modern career trajectories.

Step 1: Map Roles and Define Competency Expectations

The first step in driving career pathing is to clarify roles and the competencies required for success. Remember, a competency is distinct from a skill, combining skills, knowledge, behaviors, and expertise. It’s how someone performs on the job, not just what they can do. For example, managing a client relationship may involve communication skills, problem-solving, technical knowledge, and professionalism.

To get started with mapping roles and skills:

1. Identify critical roles in the organization.
2. Define the competencies that matter most for each role.
3. Set clear proficiency levels for each competency, so employees understand what “success” looks like at different stages.

Consider this example: A junior analyst might need basic data analysis skills and strong attention to detail. A mid-level analyst would add independent project management and client communication competencies, while a senior analyst might demonstrate leadership in cross-functional projects and mentorship.

Fold these competency requirements into your job descriptions. By laying out these expectations, current and future employees can clearly see how their role evolves over time.

Step 2: Assess Current Skills and Identify Gaps

Once roles and expectations are mapped, HR and learning leaders should assess the current skill levels of employees. Employee skills assessments provide a snapshot of where employees stand relative to role expectations and identify gaps that could hinder performance or career growth.

For example, if a team member is strong in technical skills but less experienced in client management, learning leaders and managers can identify learning resources, mentorships, and/or stretch projects to close that gap. Assessments also give managers visibility into high-potential employees who may be ready for new responsibilities or future leadership roles.

The goal is actionable insight: seeing where employees fall short, where they are strongest, and identifying which skills and competencies could be developed next.

Step 3: Connect Development to Career Pathing

The next step is to link development opportunities directly to career paths. Not every skill “gap” needs to be closed. If the next level of proficiency isn’t necessary or desired, it’s not a “gap” for that individual. Employees (and their managers) should see a direct line between improving certain skills and competencies and advancing in their careers.

Practical steps include:

• Holding development dialogues: Encourage managers and employees to discuss skill gaps, career interests, and growth plans openly.
• Setting concrete development goals: Tie specific training, projects, or assignments to competencies that employees need to build.
• Visualizing paths: Use simple frameworks or competency models to show the journey from current skills to the next role.

The aim is to make growth tangible. Employees should not have to wonder what’s next. They should see it clearly and understand how to reach it.

Step 4: Make Skill Progression Visible and Actionable

A career path is only useful if employees can see and track their skill progression. Providing visibility ensures that growth feels personal, purposeful, and achievable.

Key strategies include:

• Mapping learning resources, projects, or stretch assignments to skill and competency requirements.
• Encouraging employees to take ownership of their development while giving managers and HR a supporting role.
• Revisiting skills assessments and updating competency maps as roles evolve.

One key to making skills progression visible to all is a flexible skills management platform, such as Avilar’s WebMentor Skills™. A robust system will give leaders, managers, and employees real-time visibility into skill strengths and gaps, making it easy to track progress.

Example Case Study: National Nonprofit Organization Supports Strategic Learning

A national nonprofit organization experiencing record growth worked with Avilar to adapt the Avilar Competency Model™ for all organizational levels.

The results illustrate the power of structured career pathing and skill progression:

• Employees can easily see the skill expectations for their roles.
• Senior leadership can identify high-potential candidates for future advancement.
• Analysis of skill gaps guides learning resource allocation.
• Development dialogues allow employees and managers to discuss skill gaps openly.
• Learning resources are mapped to competencies, giving employees the tools to manage their own development.

This example shows that career pathing and skill progression aren’t abstract concepts. They are practical tools that align employee growth with organizational needs.

FAQs for HR and Learning Leaders

Q1: Where do I start if our organization has never mapped skills or competencies?

Start with critical roles and map one or two growth steps per role. Expand over time as processes mature.=.

Q2: What if our company doesn’t have many promotion opportunities?

Growth doesn’t have to be vertical. Lateral moves, deeper mastery, and new responsibilities can be just as meaningful.

Q3: How do I keep employees engaged with skill progression?

Make it visible and actionable. Show skill levels, next steps, and link development to resources and projects employees can take on immediately.

Key Takeaway: HR and learning leaders can drive meaningful career pathing by focusing on skill progression

Career pathing through skill progression is a powerful and practical approach for retaining talent and building organizational strength. When done well, this approach helps employees understand where they can go and how to get there. Engagement will rise, skill gaps will shrink, and your organization will gain a workforce ready to meet current and future challenges.

If you’re looking to introduce career pathing at your organization, check our Competency Management Toolkit to get started. Or contact us to see if Avilar’s WebMentor Skills™ can support your team.

 

RELATED RESOURCES

Who’s Ready to Lead? Building Internal Talent with Competency-Based Career Paths
Using Competency Management to Offer Flexible Career Paths
Differentiating and Comparing Skills and Competencies
5 Steadfast Reasons to Update Job Descriptions