Career Pathing, Career Development and Individual Development Planning – London, 12–16 Apr 2027

Programme overview

Technical depth: Practitioner · Practical mode: Case study

Introduction

Capable employees leave when they cannot see where their career goes next, and specialists are often promoted into management roles they neither want nor suit because no other route exists. Development plans are completed once a year and forgotten. This Core Concept course equips managers to build career architecture, map career paths with clear progression criteria, and turn them into individual development plans and regular career conversations. Participants work through cases from several sectors and leave with a Career Path Framework for one job family in their own organisation.

Course Objectives

• Diagnose the state of career development in the organisation using career theory, ISO 30422 guidance and ISO 30414 internal mobility metrics
• Design career architecture with job families, levels, dual ladders and lateral lattice moves
• Build career path maps with clear progression criteria for a job family
• Prepare individual development plans and hold structured career conversations using RIASEC, career anchors and the GROW model
• Link career paths to succession and talent decisions while controlling plateau, bottleneck and fairness risks
• Produce a Career Path Framework for one job family, ready for leadership approval

Target Audience

• Talent management and career development managers
• HR business partners advising on promotion, mobility and retention
• L&D managers responsible for development programmes linked to progression
• Organisation design and reward managers who maintain job architecture
• Line managers accountable for team development and the retention of key staff

Course Outline

Day 1: Career Development Context and Current State

• Super's Life-Span, Life-Space Model of Career Development
• Protean and Boundaryless Career Concepts and the Psychological Contract
• Career-Related Learning Guidance in ISO 30422
• Internal Mobility and Succession Metrics Under ISO 30414
• Career Framework Current-State Audit: Job Architecture, Policies and Mobility Data

Day 2: Career Architecture Models

• Job Architecture and Levelling with Point-Factor Job Evaluation
• Job Family and Career Band Matrix
• Dual Career Ladders: Managerial and Professional Tracks
• Career Lattice Design for Lateral and Cross-Functional Moves
• SFIA 9 Levels of Responsibility for Digital Career Paths

Day 3: Building Career Paths and Development Plans

• Career Path Map Build: Entry Points, Moves and Typical Time in Role
• Progression Criteria Matrix: Experience, Capability and Performance Evidence
• Individual Development Plan Template Using the 70:20:10 Model
• Career Interest and Values Profiling with Holland RIASEC and Schein Career Anchors
• Career Conversation Structure Using the GROW Coaching Model

Day 4: Talent Decisions, Risk and Problem Cases

• Performance and Potential Assessment with the 9-Box Grid
• Succession Readiness Levels and Talent Pool Linkage
• Career Plateau Diagnosis Using Bardwick's Structural, Content and Life Plateau Typology
• Internal Talent Marketplace and Project-Based Mobility Rules
• Career Framework Risk Register: Promotion Bottlenecks, Unequal Access and Raised Expectations

Day 5: Case Work and the Career Path Framework

• Engineering Firm Case Study: Senior Specialists Leaving Rather Than Managing
• Hospitality Group Case Study: Frontline Staff Without Visible Progression
• Career Path Map Build for One Job Family in an Own Organisation
• IDP Samples and Manager Career Conversation Guide Drafting
• Peer Challenge Panel and Framework Defence

Skills You Will Gain

• Career Architecture Design
• Job Family Mapping
• Progression Criteria Design
• Development Planning
• Career Coaching
• Talent Review Facilitation
• Internal Mobility Management
• Retention Risk Analysis

Why Attend This Course

• Return with a Career Path Framework for a real job family, already tested before a peer panel
• Give specialists a route to grow without forcing them into management
• Answer the question of where an employee can go next with a map and criteria rather than general promises
• Compare career practices with managers from other sectors and countries

Conclusion

Career paths retain people only when they are visible, credible and discussed. This course moves from career development theory and the current state of an organisation's framework, through career architecture, path mapping and development planning, to the talent decisions and risks that make or break a framework in practice. The final day turns that work into a Career Path Framework for one job family, which participants take back to their organisation as a working model to extend to other families.