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Quick Summary: A skill gap exists when your proficiency grade for a skill falls below the benchmark grade required for your Career. SkillsDB identifies these gaps automatically, displays them with color-coded indicators on the Skills page, and surfaces learning resources to help you close them.

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Overview

A skill gap is the difference between your current proficiency level for a skill and the benchmark grade your organization expects for that skill in your Career. SkillsDB calculates this comparison automatically: for every skill assigned to your Career, the system compares your recorded grade against the benchmark set for your role and level. When your grade falls short of the benchmark, the skill is identified as a gap. Skill gaps exist to give you and your manager a clear, objective picture of where your current proficiency does not yet meet the requirements of your role. Rather than relying solely on informal performance conversations, skill gap data provides a structured measurement that connects your personal development directly to your Career expectations. Your skill gaps are visible to you, your manager, and administrators. Your manager can use skill gap data to assign targeted learning resources, prioritize development discussions, and monitor your progress over time. You can use your own gap data to guide your learning priorities, decide which skills to focus on, and demonstrate growth. All employees can view their own skill gaps. No special permissions are required to see or act on your own gap data.

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How Skill Gaps are Calculated

A skill gap is calculated by comparing your grade for a skill against the benchmark grade set for that skill within your assigned Career. Your grade is determined by assessments:
  • Self-assessment grade — the proficiency level you recorded for yourself during a self-assessment
  • Manager grade — the proficiency level your manager recorded for you during a manager assessment
When a grade has been recorded, SkillsDB uses it to compare against the benchmark. When no grade has been recorded yet, the skill appears as ungraded and no gap calculation is performed. The benchmark grade is the minimum proficiency level your organization expects for a given skill at your Career and level. Benchmarks are configured by your administrator or manager. They may vary by level — for example, the benchmark for a skill might be Level 2 for a junior role and Level 4 for a senior role. If your grade is below the benchmark, a gap exists. If your grade meets or exceeds the benchmark, no gap exists.
Note: Benchmarks are set by your organization’s administrators or managers. If you believe a benchmark is incorrect for your role, contact your manager or administrator.

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Understanding the Grade Indicators

On the Skills page and in the career detail view, each skill displays a colored grade badge that shows your gap status at a glance.
ColorMeaning
RedYour grade is below the benchmark — a skill gap exists
GreenYour grade meets the benchmark — no gap
BlueYour grade exceeds the benchmark
No badge / ungradedNo grade has been recorded for this skill yet
Red grade badges identify your current skill gaps. Green and blue badges confirm that a skill meets or exceeds its benchmark. These same color indicators appear in the Skills Matrix, which managers and administrators use to view skill gaps across their entire team.

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Viewing Your Skill Gaps

To see your skill gaps:
  1. Select Skills from the left sidebar navigation.
  2. The Skills page opens on the All Skills tab by default, showing your assigned Careers with a count of skills in each.
  3. Select a Career row to open the career detail view.
  4. In the career detail view, each skill row displays your self grade, your manager’s grade, and the benchmark grade. Skills where your grade falls below the benchmark show a red grade badge.
To view all of your skills across all Careers at once, select the All Skills row at the top of the Skills table. This opens a combined view of every skill in every Career assigned to you.
Note: Skill gaps only appear for skills that have a benchmark configured for your Career and level. Skills without a benchmark show your grade but do not display a gap indicator.

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Addressing Your Skill Gaps Through Upskilling

The Upskilling view connects your skills to learning resources that can help you close your gaps. To access Upskilling:
  1. Select Skills from the left sidebar navigation.
  2. At the top of the page, select the Skills breadcrumb to open the view dropdown.
  3. Select Upskilling from the dropdown.
The Upskilling view lists your skills alongside any learning resources associated with them. Select a skill row to expand it and see the available resources. You can add a resource directly to your Learning Plan from this view. You can filter the Upskilling view to focus your work:
  • All — Shows every skill that has learning resources available in the library
  • In Progress — Shows only skills where you already have an active learning resource in your Learning Plan
Use the Upskilling view to discover resources targeted at your skill gaps and to track what you are actively working through.
Tip: Start on the career detail page to identify which skills are red (below benchmark), then switch to Upskilling to find learning resources for those specific skills and add them to your Learning Plan.

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Using the Focus Flag to Prioritize a Skill

If you want to mark a specific skill as a priority — for example, a skill where you have a significant gap — you can apply a Focus flag to it. Focus-flagged skills appear in the Highlights section on the Skills page, making them easy to find and monitor without drilling into a specific Career. To apply a Focus flag:
  1. Select Skills from the left sidebar navigation.
  2. Select a Career row to open the career detail view.
  3. On the skill row you want to prioritize, open the actions menu and select Add Focus.
The Focus flag is self-applied — you do not need manager or administrator permission to flag your own skills. To remove a Focus flag, open the same actions menu and select Remove Focus.
Note: The Focus flag is for personal prioritization only. It does not change your grade, affect your benchmark comparison, or send a notification to your manager.

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Who Can See Your Skill Gaps

RoleAccess
YouYour own skill gaps on the Skills page and career detail view
Your managerYour skill gaps from the team Skills Matrix and your individual profile
AdministratorsSkill gap data for all employees across the organization
Your manager can view your gap data to inform development conversations, assign learning resources, and assess your progress over time. Administrators can see skill gap summaries across teams and departments. Peer employees cannot see your skill gap data.

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Common Questions

A skill gap is a calculated measurement — it exists when your recorded grade is below the benchmark for your Career. A skill flag is a label applied manually to a skill, such as Expert, Mentor, or Focus. Flags and gaps are independent of each other: a skill can have a gap without any flag applied, or a flag without a gap.
Grade badges appear only after you or your manager has completed an assessment for those skills. If no assessment has been submitted, your skills appear as ungraded and no gap indicator is shown. Contact your manager if you believe an assessment should have been completed or if you would like to start a self-assessment.
Skill gaps are based on the grades recorded in your most recent assessment. If you believe your recorded grade does not accurately reflect your current proficiency, discuss the discrepancy with your manager. Your manager can submit or update a manager assessment to adjust your grade.
No. Skill gaps are only calculated for skills that are part of a Career assigned to you, because gap calculation requires a benchmark. Without a Career assignment, no benchmark exists and no gap comparison is possible. Contact your manager or administrator to be assigned to the appropriate Career.
No. Completing learning resources does not automatically update your grade or close a gap. A gap is only closed when your grade improves to meet or exceed the benchmark through a new assessment — either a self-assessment you submit or a manager assessment your manager submits. However, completing relevant learning and documenting your progress provides evidence that your manager can use to inform future assessments.
When your grade is updated to meet or exceed the benchmark — through a self-assessment or a manager assessment — the gap is closed. The red grade badge changes to green (meets benchmark) or blue (exceeds benchmark). The skill no longer appears as a gap.
Skills from a Career you were previously assigned to appear in the Previous Careers section of the Skills page. These skills show your grades from that period, but benchmark comparisons apply to your current Career assignment. Contact your manager if you need to review historical skill data in detail.

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Related Articles

Your Skills Profile

View your grades, benchmarks, flags, and training records

Building a Learning Plan

Add learning resources to your plan to address skill gaps

Skill Flags

How to apply Focus, Expert, Mentor, and other flags to skills

Upskilling

Connect skill gaps to learning resources

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Need Help?

If you run into any issues or have questions, reach out to your organization’s SkillsDB administrator or contact SkillsDB Support.