The global skills and competency framework for the digital world
October 2023 - SFIA update

October 2023 - SFIA update

Key topics for SFIA 9

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Cloud computing skills

We invite contributions to reviewing and enhancing SFIA's skill descriptions related to:

  • Cloud infrastructure and cloud hosting
  • Application development/management in the cloud
  • Systems design and software architecture for the cloud
  • Sourcing, procuring, provisioning cloud-based services
  • FinOps - financial operations focused on managing cloud costs and usage

SFIA focuses on the reusable, enduring, generic professional skills that enable upskilling and reskilling. This approach complements knowledge of cloud specific tools and services. If you can contribute please email here.

Guidance on data and digital skills

Our focus is on the guidance and descriptions provided to support skills management  for professionals whose roles are increasingly reliant on data and digital skills, even if they don't fall under the typical IT, digital, or data specialist categories.

This recognizes the growing integration of technology across all business functions. Examples include:

  • Data literacy skills for managers to interpret reports and dashboards
  • Coding or scripting when using software tools for automation/productivity 

The aim is to recognise these professionals require digital/data literacy and fluency which are related to the skills described in SFIA. Then what is helpful for SFIA in explaining the relationship, the commonalities and differences and also a development path towards the professional skills where appropriate. 

If this is of interest then email here.

Change requests

Some recent change requests include. 

  • Skills relating to identity and access management
  • Expanding contract management skills to cover negotiation, adding a level 7
  • Adding bid writing and tender response skills
  • Guidance on new ISO 27001:2022 controls

See other requests and contribute your own ideas on the SFIA 9 change requests page.

Support for entry-level skills

Early career professionals are the future of our industry and there is a lot of interest from employers and from higher-education and training organisations to provide greater support for entry-level/junior/graduate skills. This may include:

  • Adding or enhancing SFIA's level 1 and 2 skill descriptions
  • Explaining why some skills appear at higher SFIA levels and not the lower levels 
  • Illustrating development pathways from learning a profession to being a practitioner in the profession

If you can help take this forward then email here.

Procurement skills view

The Australian public sector procurement community has created a "Procurement View" of SFIA skills. This aligns the skills to a procurement lifecycle. You can find a pdf here

    We are interested to hear from others on this and also how we could develop this further e.g. by 

    • refining the skills view
    • sharing illustrative procurement roles and a mapping of SFIA skills and SFIA levels to these roles.
    • developing mappings to relevant industry frameworks (e.g. process frameworks, professional certifications)

    Contribute to translations

    This is an early call for any volunteers to review and refine translations for SFIA 9 in 2024. This global collaboration helps SFIA serve more professionals. If you can help please email here.

    • SFIA 8 has been translated into 12 languages and is published in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish, Japanese, Chinese, Canadian French, Russian, and Arabic.
    • A partial translations is available in Dutch.
    • The SFIA user community has led, contributed, and reviewed these translations.

    Thank you for shaping the future of SFIA through your ongoing participation and feedback. 

    Please get in touch. Click below to send an email.

    Peter Leather

    SFIA Updates Manager 

    Keywords
    sfia9