The launch of an updated version of the national Skills
Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) has been hailed by the BCS
as a step towards professionalism in IT.
The new version, describing and defining 78 IT skills at up to
seven levels, has been launched after public meetings and
contributions to a consultation website involving hundreds of
organisations including government departments, Norwich Union, the
National Health Service and IBM. The website had 800 to 900 unique
visitors a month over nine months.
SFIA has recently been adopted as the standard for skills
assessment and development by the E-Government Unit as part of a
drive to develop the government IT profession.
SFIA is managed by the SFIA Foundation, a non-profit-making body
run by the BCS, national training standards body E-Skills UK, the
Institute for the Management of Information Systems and the
Institution of Electrical Engineers.
"The new SFIA will ensure the progress of the UK's IT sector
towards the standards demanded from other professions like
engineering, financial services or the law," said Malcolm Sillars,
chairman of the SFIA upgrade project board and head of BCS
professional development products.
"It will also dovetail into the BCS's own planned programme to
extend and award chartered qualification status outside its own
membership base."
A standard chartered qualification structure across the IT
profession is one issue being considered by the Professionalism in
IT Programme initiated by the BCS.
The work on the new version of SFIA has in particular
strengthened the framework's coverage of skills in business change,
service management, security, and IT governance and compliance,
said Mike Chad, chief editor on the update project.
"These areas have benefited from the experience of a large
number of organisations using SFIA," Chad said. "Input from users
has also enabled us to cater more effectively for organisations
managing contractors and outsourcing."
Chad said SFIA could be used in areas including benchmarking
staff and organisation skills, job design, standardising job titles
and functions, resource management and allocation, professional
development planning, analysing skills gaps and planning future
skills needs, always with consistent language.
SFIA is also recognised and used by suppliers of skills
management products and services, including the BCS, E-Skills UK,
IBM and training companies.
The BCS is now updating its own SFIAplus IT skills, training and
development standard, which enhances SFIA by aligning with it and
providing extra detailed overviews. The BCS SFIAplus3 will offer
links to BCS and other providers' services and products covering
training, development, qualifications, careers, jobs, communities,
events, publications and other resources. SFIAplus3 is scheduled
for release in the first quarter of 2006.
BCS services and products using SFIAplus include Skills Manager
and Career Developer for employers, and Career Builder for
individuals, which enables people to review their skills against
SFIA, create a personal job description, think about their career
goals and plan training and development.
More information:
www.sfia.org.uk