SFIA as a framework for software engineering competencies

SFIA has become the globally accepted common language for the skills and competencies for the digital world. Within its scope are many of the world's most in-demand occupations, encompassing professionals working in areas such as (but not limited to):

• software engineering
• information and communications technology
• information and cyber security
• data science and analytics
• applied computing and computational science
• user centred design
• digital product development, sales and marketing
• business change
• digital transformation
• learning and education
• human resource and workforce management

It has been adopted by governments, corporates, academic institutions, professional bodies, training provider and individuals in more than 180 countries.

• It is regularly updated through a global, open and collaborative consultation process
• It has a 20+ year provenance and track record of successful use. There is a large amount of content which is immediately available in SFIA
• There is an established ecosystem and trusted infrastructure for creating, updating and publishing the content in multiple languages (these are costly and time-consuming activities for standalone frameworks)
• The SFIA Foundation works collaboratively with the major industry professional bodies in all disciplines to encourage an industry-wide global approach for skills and competencies
• A neutral approach – the SFIA Foundation is a global not-for-profit organisation and it is not exclusively aligned to  specific technologies, vendors or professional bodies

So for the software engineering profession; SFIA describes the specific competency needs of software engineering professionals while also acknowledging the similarities and overlaps with other professional disciplines.

This enables greater transparency across the skills supply chain and for all industry players - employers, educational institutions, professionals, professional bodies, service providers and their clients

• Facilitating career paths into and out of software engineering roles
• Developing academic curricula and training programmes to develop the competencies needed by industry
• Ensuring individuals’ skills are not discarded/discounted because the skill happens to have the "wrong" name or doesn't use a particular industry jargon
• Identifying ways to close skill gaps (for countries, industries, employers and individuals) by recognising the value of the existing skills of seasoned professionals as well as new entrants and mid-career professionals
• Differentiating between software engineering competencies - and the knowledge of software engineering principles, techniques, specific programming languages and tools.
• Enabling non-technical roles involved in talent management to understand the potential for reusable competencies and capabilities