APMG is excited to announce it has been appointed as a SFIA (Skills Framework for the Information Age) Assessment Partner by the SFIA Foundation.
SFIA provides clear descriptions of skills and levels of responsibilities required for professionals working in digital, business and technology roles and is widely adopted by government and corporate organisations to create role profiles, identify career pathways and to understand the skill levels of employees. APMG can now independently verify an individual’s knowledge, skills or competency against all SFIA skills and award the relevant digital badge.
Why APMG Skills assessments?
Skills assessments help individuals progress their career by helping them identify current gaps in their skills, and align them to desired roles. A SFIA assessment and a digital badge awarded by APMG is a validation of expertise against an internationally recognised framework.
For organisations, adopting the SFIA Framework to conduct skills assessments can assist with talent acquisition by providing guidance that new hires have the right skills, removing internal bias and ensuring an impartial evaluation. SFIA is also useful for employee appraisals, skills audits and identifying training requirements.
The SFIA Framework
SFIA outlines seven levels of responsibility and accountability starting at Level 1 (Follow) through to level 7 (Set Strategy, Inspire, Mobilise). The levels generic attributes, business skills and behavioural factors required at each level. For example, at Level 1 (Follow) someone would be able to perform routine tasks under close supervision, follow instructions, and requires guidance to complete their work. Someone working at level 6 would have significant organisational influence, make high-level decisions, shape policies, demonstrate leadership, promotes organisational collaboration, and accepts accountability in key areas.
For more information, you can read this article which describes SFIA.
Benefits of Skills Assessments
SFIA can be easily integrated into existing HR systems or processes to assess performance against business objectives or development objectives to achieve:
- Training and development planning
- Structured assessment activities
- Role profiles and competency models
APMG Skills Assessments
APMG has developed a process which can be adopted by organisations wanting to run their own in-house SFIA skill assessments. All assessments must be conducted by a SFIA Approved Assessor, and APMG can either introduce you to an approved assessor or we can help your proposed internal assessor prepare and submit their assessor application to SFIA Foundation.
APMG’s flexible approach allows you to record your assessments on internal systems which can be linked seamlessly to APMG’s digital badge platform, so candidates automatically receive their digital badge(s) upon successful completion of the assessment.
Ian Seward, SFIA General Manager, welcomes APMG’s initiative, saying “APMG’s assessment approach provides an opportunity for consultants and end users to manage their own SFIA assessment solutions under APMG’s quality and governance structures to meet SFIA’s requirements.”
How to get started on your SFIA journey
The SFIA Foundation website contains a vast library of resources and the following page gives a clear and detailed description of how SFIA works. However, you do not need to become an expert, as your SFIA Assessor will guide you through the process. You can also read the experiences of organisations who have implemented SFIA on the SFIA user stories page.
As soon as you are ready to explore SFIA skills assessments further, please get in touch using our website contact form, or give us a call on +44 1494 452450.
About SFIA Foundation
SFIA Foundation is a global not-for-profit organisation which oversees the production and use of the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). The Foundation develops and maintains the SFIA Framework and the SFIA Ecosystem. It encourages and supports the use of the Framework for individuals and organisations wishing to enhance their digital and information technology skills and competencies. For more information, visit https://sfia-online.org
