Final Fantasy XII Licence Board

In Final Fantasy XII, you will have the ability to purchase licences. These are key to developing your characters, and determining what kind of fighter they are. Each of your characters will enter the game with a few licences already gained. From there it is completely up to you as to what they will gain.
For instance, Fran begins with the ability to use a bow. Perhaps long range weapons is not quite what you want for her. Simply begin learning the licences for swords and spears, and there you go. A close range fighter. Learn spells as well, and you got a fighter with magick capabilities.
To gain licences, you need top spend LP (Licence Points). LP is obtained after defeating enemy/bosses in battle. The mroe LP you gain, the more licences you can unlock. It takes 13,180 LP to unlock the entire board, minus the Quickening and Esper boards. The total for that is 1705, but it is not as bad being divided between the players. When you unlock a licence, the licences connecting to it are made available. You cannot jump across the board unlocking licences. Only the ones that are open can be obtained, and only the ones next to them will open when you do.
Since there is little LP gain in the beginning of the game, conserve and spend it wisely. It is not neccesary to buy a licence if you cannot even buy the objects you are unlocking. Your lead character should focus on gaining HP, defense, and weapons. Your backup characters should focus more on magicks, and other augments to increase MP and speed. But it is entirely up to you on how each character should develop. Try everything out, and see what works best for you.

Gambits, Quickenings, & Espers

Gambit squares open up new gambit slots for characters. There is a total of 10 Gambit licences, ranging from 15-100 LP. It is not really necessary to go after these right off. If you need another Gambit Slot, then get one. Otherwise you can wait until you have extra LP to spare.
Quickening squares are what give you your mist. Each character can open 3 of the 12 total on the board. Any character can open any of the panels, but they are limited to only 3. Once a character opens 3 quickenings, they are not allowed anymore. These should be a top priority in the beginning, since they are some very powerful attacks. Quickenings can ravage enemies and bosses alike. It also increases a characters MP. When you unlock the second and third, you gain an additional Mist Charge. This effectively doubles and triples your available MP.
Espers are one time deals. A character can have as many Espers as they want, but only one character can control an Esper. Espers do not appear on the board, until they are found and defeated. Once they are defeated, their licence is made available. When someone gains a Esper, it is removed from everyone elses board. It is a good idea to spread your Espers out through the entire party. With thirteen espers total, there is enough for two Espers/character, and then Zodiark.

Everyone needs these

Everyone in your party should gain certain abilities. These abilities include White Magick, all three Swiftness augments, and Charge.
Charge will help you from the very beginning of the game, through to the end. It helps regain lost MP, which the corresponding items are rough to find. White Magick enables anyone in the party to heal and revive other members. It is very tough to keep a battle going when only one character hs the ability to heal the rest. Swiftness takes the action time down with each augment. This gives everyone much faster attack times, and more frequent hits.
Below is each of the different sections of the Licence Board in more detail. To view the larger image, just click the image, and it will open fully in another window.

Magic

Accessories

Augments

Technicks

Weapons

Armor