# I build an employee development program around real tasks ELVINA · DEVELOPMENT AROUND REAL WORK Your lube techs want to move up to brake work, and the only path is a slow day and a patient senior tech. I write a rubric for each skill on the way, set up practice on real jobs and give your shop foreman a check before anyone calls a person ready. Promotions and pay stay with you. Digital employee (AI) A free 30-minute demo on Zoom. The people behind me show you how I'd handle your goal and agree on the next step with you. - A rubric for every skill - Practice on real jobs - A check before any readiness call ## When growth depends on who has time ### “They want to grow, and I have nothing to show them.” Each step up has a written list of skills and what good looks like, so people can see the way. ### “My senior tech teaches when he feels like it.” Practice happens on real jobs, with the senior tech's part written down for him. ### “Somebody gets promoted because they asked first.” Readiness is a check against the rubric, the same for everyone. You make the call. ## From the role someone has to the work they want to do The federal Office of Personnel Management defines a competency as a measurable pattern of knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors and other characteristics that an individual needs to perform work roles successfully. ### The next step, in skills We list the skills between the role someone holds and the next one, from real jobs in your shop. ### A rubric for each skill What not yet, with help, alone and can teach look like for that skill. ### Practice on real jobs Each skill is practiced on real work, with a senior person beside them. ### Lessons only for gaps Short lessons for the knowledge side of a skill, drawn from your procedures. ### A check, then your call Your foreman checks the skill against the rubric. You decide who moves up. ## Lube techs on the way to brake work You said: "Two of my lube techs want to do brakes, and I have no plan for them." I start with the brake job. Example · 3 auto repair shops, 2 lube techs - Week 1 Skills between lube tech and brake work listed with your foreman - Week 2 A rubric for each skill approved - Week 3 Short lessons on the knowledge parts, from your procedures - Weeks 4 to 6 Practice on real brake jobs with a senior tech beside them - Week 7 Your foreman checks each skill against the rubric. You decide who moves up ## Who does what ### You Pick the next role and decide who moves up. ### Your foreman Agrees on the rubric and checks each skill during actual work. ### Your senior techs Take a person along on real jobs and note what they saw. ### Me Write the rubric and lessons and plan the practice. Your foreman keeps each person's record on the rubric. Titles, pay and promotions stay with you. ## What working with me takes ### You send The role people want to grow into and the jobs that role does in your business. ### You get A rubric for each skill on the way, a practice plan on real work and the check your foreman runs. ### Your time We agree up front how much of your time the interview and approvals take, and what else you and your managers do. ### Who helps I prepare the materials. My team sets me up, supports your account and runs your demo. A person confirms every meeting and every payment. Example · skill rubric, brake work ### Brake inspection and pad replacement ## What owners ask before building a development program **Q:** How do I build an employee development program around real work? A written list of the skills between the role someone holds and the next one, taken from real jobs in your business. Each skill gets a rubric that shows what not yet, with help, alone and can teach look like, so people can see the way. **Q:** Where do lessons fit in an employee development program? Only for gaps on the knowledge side of a skill. Short lessons drawn from your procedures cover that part, and the skill itself is practiced on real jobs with a senior person beside them. The senior person's part is written down for them, and your foreman keeps each person's record on the rubric. **Q:** Who decides promotions in an employee development program? Promotions stay with you, along with titles and pay. Your foreman checks each skill against the rubric, the same check for everyone, and you decide who moves up. ## Related goals and pages ### Goals - [Frontline training](/solutions/frontline-training) - [Technical training on site](/solutions/technical-training) - [Find where the team needs support](/outcomes/identify-team-skill-gaps) - [All solutions](/solutions) ### Industries and pricing - [Auto repair](/for/auto-repair) - [Retail](/for/retail) - [Pricing](/pricing) - [Growing people](/elvina/people-development) Skills matrix, mentors, a bench for new locations - [Coaching](/elvina/coach) Readiness checks · reminders and answers to staff: planned, not available today - [Training](/elvina/learning-team) Procedures, lessons, quizzes and onboarding ### Templates and guides for growing your people - [Skills matrix template: who can do which task](/academy/templates/skills-matrix) - [Hire for attitude, train for skill: the skill ladder](/goals/hire-for-attitude-train-for-skill) - [Developing managers from within your own team](/outcomes/develop-internal-talent) ## Sources Public sources, checked on the date shown. - OPM's competencies page opens with the definition: “A competency is a measurable pattern of knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, and other characteristics that an individual needs to perform work roles or occupational functions successfully.” Source: [OPM, Competencies](https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/assessment-and-selection/competencies/) (checked 2026-10-25). ## Tell me which role your people want to grow into. I'll write the skills on the way. A free 30-minute demo on Zoom. The people behind me show you how I'd handle your goal and agree on the next step with you. No launch date is committed for planned features.