Actually, you probably have never focused on the skill bar as closely in VV1 as you are now, since it was never important to make a master in 3 skills.

There is a confusing situation with the way that the skill bar works, which will be corrected in the update. That change will eliminate the apparent "overlap" between adept and master, and the bar will be easier to read.

If building or healing is the 3rd skill, you will probably not make an elder out of this villager. I never could.

I start my teens with building or healing, then move them to research, then the last skill is farming. They don't seem to fight the skill changes quite so much when I do it this way.

Another way to make sure they stay on task is to make sure they are working on the skills you want them to when you log off the game. Your docs should be studying plants, builders should be fixing huts (if you're other projects are done), then log off quickly. They will gain skill faster if you don't watch them, something along the lines of the 'watched pot never boils' idea.

Good luck!

The farming and research skill go quit easy. But the 3rd skill is staying difficult.
I'm gonna try your tip Lythanda. As I really would like that I get one villagers to get a Elder!!

I've been starting to do pretty much that, as well. Especially when trying to train a doctor, as I found that's the one way I could get them to keep studying plants, is if that's all they know to do.

Will there be placed a link on this forum when the update is available.
I find it very strange I have 1 villagers who is already busy to get master farmer since she is 65 and now she is 69. And she was already almost there when she was 65. :S

Yeah, that last skill can take years to master, once you get to the adept level... It's not a glitch, that's just how it happens some times. (Plus, different villagers have better aptitudes to different skills)

I'm trying something to try to get a Master Doc easier. I took a 2 year old with no skills and have turned him into an apprentice doc (bar about 1/2 way now). I made "sick" stew and kept getting everyone sick then had the little guy make everyone better. Hopefully this will give him a leg up on becoming a master.

Um, how can you make a 2 year old do all that?

I am guessing when they are curious about the herbs, they a learning how to use them because children can heal. I tried it with one who was just about to be 3, never tried healing with a 2 year old who has just been released from their parent and hasn't had time to explore the island. Don't know if they an heal or not.

Any villager can heal another villager, no matter what their age!! So yes, this is perfectly plausible... I've never tried to get a child to grow in healing skills beyond a couple healings, but I see no reason why you couldn't.