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Description

Strategic Workforce and Skills Planning: Mapping Roles, Building Frameworks and Selecting Tools

Two days to move from a stated intention on paper to a job and skills map your organisation will actually use

  • 2 days — 14 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

Senior management announces a workforce and skills planning initiative. A few months later the job list exists but nobody uses it. The job titles no longer match the real positions, the skills are described in terms that are far too broad, and line managers have no use for any of it during development reviews.

These 14 hours cover building the framework end to end. Participants define job families, write usable job descriptions, identify critical roles and connect the initiative to career development reviews and to the learning and development plan. Each participant leaves with the outline of their own job and skills framework.

Learning objectives

  • Define the job families and mobility pathways of an organisation
  • Write a job description that is genuinely usable by managers and employees
  • Express skills in observable terms on a proficiency scale
  • Identify critical roles using explicit criteria
  • Connect the initiative to career development reviews and to the learning and development plan
  • Build the timetable and governance bodies for the framework

What makes this programme different

A job framework drafted in the session and then tested on a real position brought by the participant
A critical-role screening grid built in the session and applied to your own scope
Common drafting flaws identified on anonymised job descriptions

Programme

1Framing the initiative

Mandate, scope and stakeholders

  • Clarifying the request from senior management and the problem to be solved
  • Choosing the scope of jobs covered in the first phase
  • Respective roles of HR, line managers and internal employee representatives
  • Alignment with internal consultation practices and the company calendar

2Mapping the jobs

Families, mobility pathways and naming conventions

  • Grouping positions into jobs and then into professional families
  • Naming rules that remain stable over time
  • Building mobility pathways between closely related jobs
  • Handling one-of-a-kind positions and multi-skilled situations

3Describing jobs and skills

Frameworks that work day to day

  • Structure of a job description and the useful level of detail
  • Expressing skills as observable work situations
  • Proficiency scales and avoiding vague adjectives
  • Distinguishing technical skills from transferable skills

4Putting the framework into service

Critical roles, tools and monitoring

  • Criteria for identifying critical roles and hard-to-fill positions
  • Links with career development reviews and the learning and development plan
  • Selecting a management tool suited to the size of the organisation
  • Monitoring indicators and update cycles for the frameworks

Who is it for

HR managers and HR development officers · learning and development managers · and owners of small and medium-sized businesses launching a job and skills planning initiative.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.