Career development
Turn real gaps into a credible plan.
See which gaps are real, how to close each one, and what to do first. Every action exists because a specific requirement of your target is unmet — and when the evidence lands, the same measurement re-runs so you can see the difference.
How it works
- 1Target
- 2Real gap
- 3Route
- 4Evidence
- 5Re-measure
Plan shown is an illustrative example.
Operations Director
- Requirement
Commercial budgeting
Needs stronger evidenceGapYou held a £1.4m budget — the record does not yet show it clearly.
Action · Record evidence · about 5 minutes
- Requirement
Board reporting
Development gapGapGenuine gap — no board-level reporting recorded yet.
Action · Contribute to a board pack cycle · 1–2 cycles
- Requirement
CQC compliance
EvidencedEvidenceEvidenced — no action needed. Re-measured automatically as your record changes.
Every action names the requirement it closes — and the target it moves you towards.
Three kinds of gap
Every gap is one of three things — and only one needs development.
The system cannot know what you have done until you record it, so the classification is yours to make. The plan makes the fork explicit on every requirement.
Already have it
Experience you have gained but not captured. Recording it closes the requirement in minutes — no course, no waiting. Missing evidence is not automatically a missing capability.
Needs stronger proof
Transferable capability that exists but reads thin. Strengthen the record with scale, ownership and outcome — the facts stay yours.
Genuine gap
Capability, qualification or experience you do not yet have. These take real development — weeks or months, not minutes — and the plan says so honestly.
The mechanism
Target → real gap → route → evidence → re-measure.
A gap is only closed when the evidence exists. Completing an action is never assumed to count — that is what keeps the measurement honest.
- 1
Target role
The requirements recorded for the role you are aiming at.
- 2
Real gap
A requirement with no evidence on your record — named, not guessed.
- 3
Development route
Record it, or develop it through experience, learning or a credential.
- 4
Evidence gained
The outcome is recorded against your career record.
- 5
Re-measure
The same deterministic method re-runs and the state moves.
Development routes
Not every gap is a course.
Six honest ways a genuine gap can close. The plan names which routes fit each requirement — it never sends you on a course you do not need.
Workplace experience
Delegated ownership, shadowing or a defined responsibility in your current role. Often arrangeable once you can name what is missing.
Structured learning
A course, programme or structured reading that genuinely builds the capability — named as the requirement it serves, never generic upskilling.
Credential
Where a target carries a hard qualification barrier, it is named plainly — what the credential is and why the role requires it.
Project or stretch assignment
A defined piece of work beyond your current remit that produces real, recordable evidence when it is done.
Mentoring or shadowing
Work alongside someone already doing it — and record what you contributed, not just what you observed.
Volunteering
Trustee, community or pro-bono work can produce genuine evidence for governance, budgeting and leadership requirements.
IllustrativeDevelopment routes are generic categories. CareerPathIQ does not sell courses, endorse or rank any training provider, and no provider can pay to become a recommendation. No course is required to use the platform.
What should I do next?
A plan with a first step, not a list.
The development plan is sequenced by the movement each action creates against your target — so effort goes where it counts and the next best action is always clear.
Record your commercial budgeting evidence
- You already held a £1.4m budget — the record does not yet show it. Recording it closes the requirement in minutes, with no development needed.
- Commercial budgeting moves from needs-evidence to evidenced against your Operations Director target.
Based on: Target Operations Director · Evidence gap: commercial budgeting
- 1
Prioritised
Required gaps before important ones, recordable evidence before real development. Quick wins first, honest effort estimates throughout.
- 2
Explained
Every action carries its rationale — the requirement it closes, why it matters for the target, and what evidence to collect when it is done.
- 3
Re-measured
Each action names its re-measurement point. When the evidence lands, the requirement state moves — and the plan moves with it.
Free and Plus
Genuinely useful free. Deeper when you are making a move.
The Free plan includes your career health baseline, structured evidence and one active target — enough to see your real gaps. Plus adds full development planning, personalised next best action and progress history.
What the plan never does
- It does not invent missing experience or claim a qualification has been achieved.
- It does not guarantee progression or predict promotion — recommendations are advisory and explainable, never pseudo-scientific.
- It does not use your career profiling. Profiling stays private self-insight and is never a development gate or a score anyone else sees.
- It does not assume completing a course changes anything — the measurement moves when the evidence is recorded.
Close the gap. See it close.
Start free, find your genuine gaps, and turn each one into a specific, measurable action.