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APMG is a SFIA Approved Assessment Partner and can help your organisation conduct skills assessments

What is the SFIA Skills Framework?

SFIA (Skills Framework for the Information Age) defines the skills and competencies required by professionals who design, develop, implement, manage and protect the data and technology that power the digital world.

Since its launch in 2000, SFIA has provided individuals and organizations with a common language to define skills and expertise in areas such as information and communications technology, digital transformation, data science and analytics, software engineering and cyber security. The use of clear language – avoiding technical jargon and acronyms – makes SFIA accessible to people in supporting roles such as human resources, learning and development, organisation design, and procurement.

The SFIA framework is updated every 3 years through a global open consultation process, ensuring it stays current and relevant. SFIA version 9 is the latest SFIA framework. It now includes 147 skills together with attributes and levels of responsibility.

SFIA Skills Assessments

SFIA approved assessments, which result in the award of a digital badge, can only be conducted by SFIA Approved Assessment Partners. APMG has been approved as a SFIA Assessment Partner.  

The APMG scheme enables an organisation to run their own internal SFIA assessments following APMG’s processes, which have already been approved by SFIA. We may be able to connect you with a SFIA Accredited Assessor, or we can help your internal assessor prepare and submit their application to SFIA.

Assessments can be recorded on your in-house systems, and you can link automatically to APMG’s digital badge platform to award individuals with a digital badge to demonstrate their level of knowledge, skill and/or competency in the SFIA skill(s) they have been assessed against. 

With the global search for talent, assessing and developing your existing staff will improve productivity and your bottom line while motivating and inspiring your teams.

I want to become a SFIA Assessor

To be a SFIA Skills Assessor, and conduct skills assessments on individuals, you must be approved by the SFIA Foundation. Full details of the SFIA requirements can be found on SFIA's website.

APMG has designed a pre-evaluation program, which has been endorsed by SFIA Foundation, to help individuals prepare for submitting their SFIA Assessor application. We will check you meet the eligibility requirements and ensure that you have prepared all the necessary evidence before submitting your application to SFIA.

If you would like to find out more about the APMG pre-evaluation program, please contact us.

I am already an Approved SFIA Skills Assessor

If you have already been approved by SFIA as an Assessor, and would like to deliver skills assessments under APMG’s approved scheme, please get in touch.

The benefits of delivering skills assessments on behalf of APMG are:

  • APMG’s assessment scheme has already been approved;
  • Your name will be listed on APMG’s website, so prospective clients can contact you directly to request assessment services;
  • APMG has a digital badge platform via Credly which can be integrated with your own online portal for recording assessments (if applicable). Alternatively, a manual process can be implemented to issue badges.

Are you looking for someone to conduct SFIA Skills Assessments?

As APMG’s assessment scheme has recently been approved, we are in the process of establishing our assessor panel. As and when approved assessors are brought on board, we will add their names to this page.

If you would like to be notified when assessors become available, please register your details with APMG.

SFIA Competency Digital Badge Image

SFIA Skills Assessment

Develop and plan your professional competency

Digital Transformation, Enhanced Professional, Strategy
SFIA Professional Skills

SFIA defines the skills and competencies required by professionals who design, develop, implement, manage and protect the data and technology that power the digital world.

An independent assessment of your professional competency can be beneficial for your career development.

Who is it for?

Skills assessments can be used by individuals for their professional development, and by employers for identifying current skillsets and skills gaps.

What is the assessment format?
  • Your assessor will provide a briefing on the assessment process and requirements, as well as provide you with access to all the relevant resources and templates
  • You will need to complete a self-assessment of your chosen skills and provide evidence that you meet the requirements of your chosen skill(s) and level(s).
  • The assessor will review the submitted evidence, and may need to interview you and/or your nominated referees
  • The assessor will notify you of their decision and, if successful, you will be awarded a digital badge stating the skill and level you have successfully been assessed for.

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FAQs

What is SFIA?

SFIA is the Skills Framework for the Information Age. It is a comprehensive skills framework that defines the skills and competencies needed by individuals who design, develop, implement, manage and protect the data & technology powering the digital world.

It provides a framework consisting of professional skills on one axis and seven levels of responsibility on the other. It describes the professional skills at various levels of responsibility, allowing individuals and businesses to easily identify relevant skills

Who uses SFIA?

SFIA can be used by anyone and everyone. Below are some examples of user groups and how they would use SFIA:

  • Individuals: to assess current skills and plan personal development
  • Line managers: to measure current capability and for resource management
  • Organisational leadership: for strategic capability planning
  • HR professionals: to create role profiles/job descriptions, for performance management and in defining career pathways
  • Recruiters: help employers describe what they need and to create competency-based selection criteria
  • Professional bodies: mapping to support membership levels, and to link their body of knowledge to competencies.

What is a SFIA assessment?

A SFIA assessment is an assessment of an individual’s skills and competencies against the SFIA framework. Usually, a small number of skills are selected (e.g. up to 6) and the individual’s prior work experience is reviewed to determine which level of responsibility they are working at.

Is SFIA training available?

General training for SFIA is available from the network of Training Partners who are assessed and approved by SFIA Foundation.

Training is available at the following levels:

  • Foundation
  • Practitioner
  • Consultant

Further details on SFIA general training can be found on the SFIA website.

A SFIA Assessor course is currently being piloted and further details will be available on the SFIA website in due course.

How much does the training course cost?

The cost of the training course is set by the training provider, so please check their websites for details of the course formats, availability and prices.

Are there any pre-requisites for the SFIA assessment?

There are no pre-requisites for undergoing a SFIA skills assessment, however it would be beneficial to gain an understanding of the framework and how it should be used beforehand.

What is the structure of the assessment?

There are three types of assessment available:

  • Self-Assessment
    • As the SFIA framework is available, free of charge, for personal use, individuals can do their own self-assessment. By accessing the available resources from SFIA Foundation, individuals can select the skills, compare their own work experience against the skill descriptions and determine which level they feel they operate at.
  • Independent Assessment
    • A skills assessment can be conducted by the individual’s line manager, HR manager, academic supervisor or similar, as long as that person has experience of using the SFIA framework.
  • Certified Assessment
    • A certified assessment is carried out by an approved SFIA Assessor using an approved assessment scheme method. If the applicant is successful, a digital badge is awarded, demonstrating the individual has been independently verified as working at that skill level.

All assessments will require the individual to collate evidence that they have been performing a the skill level being claimed. For a certified assessment, the assessor may also collect evidence from colleagues and peers. An assessment interview may also be required.

What is a SFIA skills digital badge?

Digital badges allow you to easily showcase your achievements online.

When you pass a SFIA skills assessment, you'll instantly have the option to claim a digital badge.

Your badge can be embedded on an email signature, website, social media or digital CV.

With just one click employers, customers and clients can easily view and verify your credentials and skills.

How do I claim my SFIA skills digital badge?

Once you’ve been notified that you’ve passed your assessment - you will receive an email inviting you to create a digital badge.

The link in the email takes you to the Credly website where the digital badges are hosted. You will be guided through the Credly account creation process.

Once you have created an account with Credly, log in into your account and accept your pending badge.

How do I access my digital badge?

You can always access all your digital badges via your Credly account. Digital badges can be downloaded and shared via email and various social media platforms.

Can I use the SFIA logo?

Only organizations licensed to do so are allowed to use the SFIA logo. Individuals are not permitted to use the SFIA logo, however, all individuals who pass an assessment are awarded with a digital badge which can be shared on social media and embedded into a CV/résumé.

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