Skills Framework for the Information Age

The Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA, pronounced like the name Sophia) is a model for describing and managing competencies for ICT professionals for the 21st century, and is intended to help match the skills of the workforce to the needs of the business . It maps out the range of skills as a two-dimensional table, by tagging each skill with a category and responsibility level.

These categories are divided into six main areas: Strategy and planning; Business change; Solutions development and implementation; Service management; Procurement and management support; and Client interface. Each of these is then further divided into sub-categories (see below), mapping out 86 separately identifiable skills. Each of these skills has a general description.

There are seven levels of responsibility, in ascending order: Follow; Assist; Apply; Enable; Ensure and advise; Initiate and influence; and Set strategy, inspire and mobilise. Each of these responsibility levels has a generic description showing the level of autonomy, influence, complexity, and business skills required.

From a Professional Services perspective, responsibility levels 3-7 can be thought of as equivalent to seniority levels: Associate professional, Professional, Senior professional, Lead professional, and Principal professional.

Each level of responsibility within each skill has a brief description of the typical tasks expected of someone in that role, and as only...
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