SFIA (Skills Framework for the Information Age)
SFIA (Skills Framework for the Information Age) is the internationally adopted standard and reference model for describing and measuring skills and competencies used by professionals in ICT, digital, software engineering, cyber security and other technology-related roles. SFIA is used by governments, corporates, education, professional bodies, small businesses and individuals in almost 200 countries.
The challenge with identifying skills gaps
It’s widely acknowledged that there’s a significant digital skills gap across industries, countries and continents resulting in the inability to recruit skilled professionals with the necessary knowledge and experience to support digitalization.
The World Economic Forum has estimated that 150 million new technology jobs will be created globally over the next five years, and 77% of all jobs will require workers to be proficient in a range of digital skills by 2030.
Design principles
SFIA has become the globally accepted common language for the skills and competencies for the digital world. Since its early development, SFIA has maintained a number of design principles which have persisted throughout all versions of SFIA.
- SFIA is straightforward, generic and universally applicable.
- SFIA is an experience-based framework based on levels of responsibility and skills.
- SFIA is flexible and works with all organizational structures, job or role designs. The SFIA skills and levels can be configured flexibly to support all organizational structures. It works for individuals, small and large teams, whole departments or entire organizations with thousands of employees.
- SFIA defines the essence of skills. SFIA is descriptive, not prescriptive. It does not define low level tasks nor deliverables as these are highly context dependent.
- SFIA provides an integrated view of competency. SFIA recognises levels of responsibility, professional skills, behaviours or attributes, knowledge and qualifications and certifications.
- SFIA is independent of technology and approach.
- SFIA is updated by real practitioners from the international user base. SFIA is driven by its end users.
What SFIA does:
Framework
Provides a framework consisting of professional skills on one axis and seven levels of responsibility on the other.
Skills
Describes the professional skills at various levels of competence.
Levels
Describes the levels of responsibility, in terms of generic attributes of Autonomy, Influence, Complexity, Knowledge and Business Skills.
Why SFIA?
Straightforward and accessible
SFIA gives individuals and organizations a common language for defining skills and expertise in a consistent way. The use of clear language, avoiding technical jargon and acronyms, makes SFIA accessible to all involved.
It helps solve common translation issues that hinder communication and effective partnerships within organizations and multi-disciplinary teams.
Flexible & adaptable
SFIA does not define a fixed methodology or prescribe organizational structures, roles or jobs. It simply provides clear descriptions of skills and levels of responsibility.
SFIA can be used across multiple industries and organizational types. It’s an ideal framework for individuals, small and large teams, whole departments or entire organizations with thousands of employees.
SFIA remains free of charge for most non-commercial use.
Staying relevant
Built and owned by the global user community, SFIA is kept relevant through open consultation and is updated every few years to address the needs of industry and business.
The architecture and underlying design principles of SFIA have remained unchanged, a testament to its usefulness and value. It continues to deliver what industry and business need in order to manage and develop skills and competencies.
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About SFIA Foundation
The SFIA Foundation is a global not-for-profit organization which oversees the production and use of the Skills Framework for the Information Age.
About SkillsTX
SkillsTX helps organizations to realize the digital potential across their workforce. As a global SFIA accredited partner and training provider, they offer a range of services to organizations and individuals to get maximum value from the framework.
About APMG
In partnership with the SFIA Foundation, APMG awards digital badges to individuals that have had their knowledge, skills or competency verified by an approved SFIA Assessor against the SFIA Competency Framework.