diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 41c42dbac1a7032ebd8aa928ab0f49eed09f8ad2..630d4a7698b440857833c69f0532ab8eb25df2d3 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -51,6 +51,29 @@ decoupled_pages:
     project: project/decoupled_pages
     branch: 8.x-1.x
 
+# For testing the job selection logic.
+gitlab_templates_jobs:
+  extends: .downstream-base
+  trigger:
+    strategy: depend
+    project: project/eca
+    branch: ci-test
+  variables:
+    _GITLAB_TEMPLATES_MANUAL: "1"
+  parallel:
+    matrix:
+      - _GITLAB_TEMPLATES_EXPECTED_JOBS: composer,composer-lint,phpcs,phpstan,phpunit
+      - _GITLAB_TEMPLATES_EXPECTED_JOBS: composer,composer (next major),composer-lint,phpcs,phpstan (next major),phpunit (next major)
+        OPT_IN_TEST_CURRENT: "0"
+        OPT_IN_TEST_NEXT_MAJOR: "1"
+      - _GITLAB_TEMPLATES_EXPECTED_JOBS: composer (next major),phpstan (next major),phpunit (next major)
+        OPT_IN_TEST_CURRENT: "0"
+        OPT_IN_TEST_NEXT_MAJOR: "1"
+        SKIP_COMPOSER_LINT: "1"
+        SKIP_PHPCS: "1"
+        SKIP_PHPESLINT: "1"
+        SKIP_PHPSTYLELINT: "1"
+
 # For Drupal 7.
 d7-api:
   extends: .downstream-base
diff --git a/includes/include.drupalci.main.yml b/includes/include.drupalci.main.yml
index 91b88b3972a5992eda9e4ebb8c4d0bb5571ff8d1..64d4a420c509506f64f852fee5f4a046f9e23896 100644
--- a/includes/include.drupalci.main.yml
+++ b/includes/include.drupalci.main.yml
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@
   # If the module already supports Drupal 11, do nothing, otherwise, claim Drupal 11 support for testing purposes.
   - grep -q "\^11" *.info.yml || (grep -q "\^10" *.info.yml && sed -i "s/\^10/\^10 \|\| ^11/" *.info.yml)
 
-# These reusable / chainable rules should be defined using conditions that end in "when: never". 
+# These reusable / chainable rules should be defined using conditions that end in "when: never".
 # This is the same as checking the conditions when not to run. This pattern allows for rules to be chained.
 .skip-composer-rule: &skip-composer-rule
   if: '$SKIP_COMPOSER == "1"'
@@ -643,6 +643,29 @@ phpunit (next major):
     _TARGET_PHP: $CORE_PHP_MAX
     _TARGET_CORE: $CORE_MAJOR_DEVELOPMENT
 
+###############################################
+# HELPER JOBS FOR THE TEMPLATE TESTS DOWNSTREAM
+###############################################
+
+On Hold:
+  stage: .pre
+  rules:
+    - if: '$_GITLAB_TEMPLATES_MANUAL == "1"'
+      when: manual
+    - when: never
+  script:
+    - printf "TBD"
+
+Verify Job Selection:
+  stage: .pre
+  rules:
+    - if: '$_GITLAB_TEMPLATES_MANUAL == "1"'
+      when: always
+    - when: never
+  script:
+    - PIPELINE=$(glab pipeline get -p $CI_PIPELINE_ID -o json)
+    # TODO: Compare the list of jobs with $_GITLAB_TEMPLATES_EXPECTED_JOBS
+
 ###############################
 # BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY LAYER
 ###############################
diff --git a/includes/include.drupalci.variables.yml b/includes/include.drupalci.variables.yml
index a3badbd1931c5ea245bd0c80cd8e62c97e6bf22c..5b2e3da726bcd13c9bb7abcbe265f542c9a75671 100644
--- a/includes/include.drupalci.variables.yml
+++ b/includes/include.drupalci.variables.yml
@@ -430,3 +430,6 @@ variables:
     _GITLAB_TEMPLATES_REF:
         value: "1.0.x"
         description: "The branch/ref to use during CI. The default is 1.0.x. For issue testing, the format is often nnnnnnn-some-text"
+    _GITLAB_TEMPLATES_MANUAL:
+        value: "0"
+        description: "Set to 1 to prepend a manual job in the .pre stage to create a pipeline without running it. Used by the gitlab_templates_jobs test internally."