How to use this transition guide

The guide provides an indication of the degree of change, using a Low, Medium, High scale.

There is also an indication whether the changes may impact upon current/previous skills assessments – for example whether a skill level has been added/removed, or whether the skill level definition has changed significantly.

Most of the changes for SFIA 8 should not impact current/previous assessments: those that do have been highlighted in the change log and the change notes attached to each SFIA 7 skill.

New skill definitions in SFIA provide the opportunity to refine skills profiles.

We suggest you first to read through this guide, which describes the parts of the SFIA framework that have been updated and the rationale behind significant changes.

Identify areas of significant change

The changes that are of significance to the organisation can then be addressed in the context of the following activities.

• Internal SFIA Consultants/Practitioners. In a large organisation that has people who are SFIA practitioners or consultants, it will be helpful to arrange meetings or wokshops to review the changes and decide action. Actions may be needed to update internal documents or processes which use SFIA.

• SFIA Accredited Partners, Consultants and Practitioners. You should ensure that you have an in-depth understanding of the new version, so that you can provide the best quality advice and guidance to your customers.

• SFIA-based role profiles and/or job descriptions. These can be updated to reflect new skills, new levels, merged skills and skills that have changed significantly.

• Updates can also be made to Rate Cards, CVs/Resumés, Continual Professional Development (CPD) plans, Recruitment processes and tools, and other items using SFIA that will benefit from adopting the latest version.

• Product and Service Providers. Review SFIA7 content and plan your updates to reflect the latest version. Ensure you communicate the SFIA version(s) you support.  

• Skills management databases. Review any internal databases that refer to SFIA skills. A convenient way to update a database is to use the skills definitions published by the SFIA Foundation in the form of a spreadsheet.

• Development and training. Review how your material aligns to SFIA skills and skill levels. This will highlight material to be updated or created.

• Training and education providers can review and update the mapping of their offerings to SFIA, and make any necessary curriculum changes to each affected course. New and refreshed SFIA skills may provide an opportunity to create new educational products.

• Managers. Communicate to managers that a new version of SFIA is being adopted, and brief them on changes that require action or special attention.

• Organisational leaders. Reviewing the new and changed areas and the key themes can provide insights and inspiration for developing the capabilities of your own organisation. Strategic workforce planning is key in aligning organisational capabilities to technology and business strategies.