Originally launched in 2012, the LPI Capability Map has been used and referenced by thousands of L&D professionals globally. It has become a de facto standard for individuals seeking to understand their own skill levels and for teams and organisations wishing to put in place a strategic plan for developing staff.

Now, in 2018, the international team of experts behind the Capability Map has refreshed the framework to account for several developments in the L&D field, including the increased use of technology in workplace learning and an improved understanding of how people learn.

The 2018 iteration of the Map describes a range of 25 skills necessary for success in modern learning and development. Individuals can use the LPI Capability Map to understand their own skills (and skill gaps) via a free-to-use online self-assessment hosted by competency  talent solutions experts Lexonis, which results in a Personal Skills Profile report that can be used to support personal development planning and career growth.

The LPI Capability Map can also give team leaders a strategic overview of the skills of an entire L&D department, using spider diagrams to reveal skills gaps and heat maps to allow goal setting in line with the department's strategic planning. With this level of analysis, the aim is to help create a coherent skills development programme for the department, including succession planning and other uses.

Speaking about the refresh project, LPI chairman, Donald H Taylor, said, "The LPI Capability Map refresh project has been a huge effort, involving a collaboration of almost sixty subject-matter experts and L&D practitioners from around the world, including the USA, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Singapore, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, India and the UK. Under the project leadership of LPI consultant Michelle Ockers, this international team has created what we believe is a common language for skills in our field, a global lingua franca that enables L&D to provide even better support for learning and performance in the workplace."

Learning and Performance Institute CEO Edmund Monk added:, "The LPI's mission is to empower L&D professionals and the organisations in which they work with the information and tools they need to work smarter and perform better. Recent developments in the workplace mean that L&D teams must now be able to act more strategically and focus on business needs; they must be able to foster learning cultures in which employees can self-direct their own learning; they must be able to understand how to 'market' their programmes in a world of almost constant social media interruptions; and they must be able to master the latest skills such as content curation, video production, and data analysis. The LPI Capability Map is a gateway through which L&D can enter to understand where they sit in this new learning landscape and a key by which they can unlock future capabilities."

Following its publication in October 2018, another comprehensive review and publication cycle is planned for the Map within three years.