SFIAplus - IT skills framework
Whether you’re just starting out in your career or looking to move into a senior role, it’s vital to understand your skills and your next steps.
What does SFIAplus give me?
Benchmark your skills against the rest of industry to gain an independent assessment of your capabilities
Discover appropriate training and development activities to help you progress in your career
Browse the typical work activities associated with specific roles to plot your current and future skills
Understand your latent and transferable skills and the potential roles you would succeed in
Why use a skills framework?
Using a skills framework, such as SFIAplus, allows you to plot your career progression against an industry-defined benchmark, showing you your current technical skills, uncovering your latent skills and helping you identify career next steps and learning opportunities.
All our certifications, apprenticeships and professional standards, including RITTech and CITP, are aligned to SFIAplus so you can be sure you’re working and progressing at the correct level.
Using SFIAplus to support your career
As a BCS member, you will have access to Browse SFIAplus. This allows you to plot your current skills against the framework and learn more about the BCS certificates and professional standards that will support you on your career path.
SFIA - the skills framework for the information age
SFIA is a globally-recognised standard, developed by industry experts and backed by Government as best practice for identifying and developing IT capability.
Crucially SFIA offers a common skills language, accessible to IT, HR and L&D professionals, which breaks down barriers between teams, departments and organisations when it comes to transferring and recruiting digital talent.
What's in the plus?
SFIAplus was developed by BCS to bring the SFIA framework to life, adding detailed training and development resources. For each SFIA skill at each level, SFIAplus offers six additional task definitions and eight additional skills resources.
The result is the industry’s most established and widely adopted model, enabling both employers and practitioners to identify career pathways and plan development aligned with business transformation.
What's in the version 8 update?
Launched in October 2021, Browse SFIAplus version 8 builds on the new SFIA v8 release and more accurately reflects the skills needed by an IT professional today. Exciting new functions include:
- 23 new skills and new subcategories
- All Work Activities and Knowledge and Skills have been progressively re-aligned
- New Skills Component Matrices which help to visualise progression through the different levels
- New SFIA Guidance, Related Skills and Views
How can I use this in my team?
Assess your team
Audit your team capability using our RoleModelplus skills assessment platform.
Download the wallchart
Discover the breadth of the framework by downloading our free SFIAplus wallchart.