The Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) - the IT skills standard in the UK

What is SFIA?

The Skills Framework for the Information Age has been defined by IT professionals and employers; it has been produced by the industry for the industry. It is used worldwide in a variety of settings as the preferred way of describing IT skills. SFIA underpins the UK government’s approach to professionalism in IT and its use has now been mandated throughout the Civil Service.

SFIA provides a common dictionary of definitions for recognisable IT skills (not jobs, not roles, but skills) which can then be built into standard job descriptions and role profiles that can be understood by anyone using the framework. It is a model for describing IT practitioners’ skills that is constructed as a two dimensional matrix: one axis (the y axis) presents the whole set of SFIA skills; the other axis (the x axis) defines the different levels of competence or attainment exercised by IT practitioners. Skills are grouped into six categories, and the categories are then further broken down into subcategories. The categories and subcategories are purely for the convenience of the SFIA user: they form a navigation aid and nothing more.

Why use SFIA?

The overall purpose of SFIA is to assist organisations employing IT professionals to:

• reduce IT project risk by identify what skills are needed and what skills people have
• retain staff through recognition and reward of their capability
• make recruitment effective by selecting only staff who have the skills the organisation needs
• enhance the professionalism and effectiveness of the IT function.

This is accomplished by developing the right skills, by deploying them to best effect and by providing appropriate development and career paths for IT professionals.

SFIA’s focus on professional skills rather than technological information means that the framework is readily understood by a wide community, including:

• IT professionals and their managers in industry and Government
• HR managers, professionals and training staff
• non-technical managers
• lecturers and curriculum planners in education and training organisations

SFIA is suitable for use in any organisation that employs IT professionals, in any branch of industry or Government.

SFIA can play an invaluable part in managing IT skills effectively. Our Skills Management Workshop provides guidance on how you can incorporate SFIA into a comprehensive approach to managing the capability of your organisation.

For full details of SFIA and the organisations that help build the Framework, please visit www.sfia.org.uk