Learning Plan
A learning plan is the set of learning resources assigned to or chosen by one person, each linked to a skill and tracked through to completion, that carries out the commitments made in their development plan.
By Samantha, SkillsDB|Published |Updated
What It Is
A learning plan is the working queue of a person's development. Where a development plan states the gap, the target level, the deadline, and the evidence, the learning plan holds the resources that will get there: the course, the shadowing assignment, the internal workshop, the book. Items arrive three ways: a manager or administrator assigns them, the person's career links them, or the person adds them from the library or as a custom entry. Each item moves through four stages, To Do, In Progress, Completed, and Archived, and each shows who added it and when, so the plan is also a record of who recommended what. The plan is personal but not private; managers see their reports' plans, add to them, and log hours and percent complete. A team-level view lists every person and resource in one table so a manager can see who has not started. What the plan cannot do is close a gap. Completion is activity; the level changes when the skill is reassessed.
Key Facts
- A learning plan holds resources; a development plan holds commitments. The learning plan is how the development plan gets done.
- Items are either library resources, curated by an administrator and linked to skills and careers, or custom resources a person or manager adds for learning the library does not hold.
- Every item shows who added it and when, so a plan doubles as a record of recommendations.
- The four stages run one way: To Do to In Progress to Completed. Completed items can be archived, not reopened.
- Managers add resources, record hours and percent complete, and read a consolidated team table with start and completion dates.
- Marking a resource Completed does not change a proficiency level or a trained status. Those change through training approval and reassessment.
Learning Plan vs. Development Plan
| Dimension | Development plan | Learning plan |
|---|---|---|
| Answers | Which gap, to what level, by when, proven how | Which resources, in what order, at what stage |
| Unit | A skill or competency with a current and target level | A learning resource linked to a skill |
| Owner | Manager and employee together, from an assessment | The employee, with the manager assigning and tracking |
| Closed by | A reassessment that records the target level | The last item reaching Completed |
| Common failure | Goals written as free text with no level or date | A long To Do column nobody connects to a gap |
How SkillsDB Models It
In SkillsDB a Learning Plan is a board with four columns, To Do, In Progress, Completed, and Archived, and every card names who added it and when. Take a Support Engineer whose manager assessment put Network Troubleshooting at 2 against a Level 2 benchmark of 3. The engineer opens Skills, switches the breadcrumb to Upskilling, expands Network Troubleshooting, and selects Add on a course the administrator linked to that skill under Library → Training; the card lands in To Do. The manager opens People → the engineer → Learning Plans, adds a custom resource with a note ("covers the packet-capture work from your last review"), and later selects Update to log hours and percent complete. Across the team, the Team Learning Plans table shows one row per person and resource with status, Assigned By, and start and completion dates, filtered to Direct Reports or My Org and exported to Excel. Completion changes no grade; the next assessment does. See Learning Plans and Training Approvals.
Related
the commitment the learning plan carries out
the programs a learning plan serves
where the items should come from
where approved training and its expiry show up
the feature
how a completed item becomes verified training
Twelve courses in To Do. Zero gaps closed.
See how SkillsDB ties every learning plan item to a skill and a level, so progress means something changed.
Book Demo