Professional standards for role-skills profiling using SFIA

Purpose & Value

These guidelines set out the professional standards for creating skills profiles in relation to jobs/roles, teams and management positions in organisations. They promote consistency in the skills described and relevance to the business or organisation. They also protect the integrity of SFIA as a trusted community framework, while enabling organisations to use AI responsibly with professional oversight.

Using SFIA for skills profiling is valuable because it:

• uses a trusted, globally adopted skills framework rather than ad-hoc or unverified skills lists, or focusing on product knowledge
• provides a common language that supports line managers, human resource managers, recruiters and the wider community
• helps employers and professionals make better-informed decisions about learning value and career development
• maintains the integrity of SFIA as a shared resource available to all

There is understandable temptation to automate skills-profiling with AI to save time and cost. Used responsibly, AI can help, but outputs should always be checked and validated by experienced people to ensure accuracy and build trust. HR applications of AI are generally seen as high risk and require strong guardrails. Skills profiling should be guided by the same principles of care and oversight.

Governance

• Professional role-skills profiling must be carried out by a SFIA Accredited Consultant or SFIA Accredited Practitioner.
• Professional role-skills profiling requires:
• a sound understanding of the SFIA framework, verified by passing the SFIA Foundation Level Test
• familiarity with the skills and generic attributes in the SFIA version to be used
• familiarity with the functions and responsibilities of the roles to be profiled
• Apply the same professional standards to automated or semi-automated approaches (including generative AI and LLMs)

Use of GenAI and LLMs

• Remember - LLMs (large language models) do not automatically access official SFIA materials.
• Without grounding in verified sources, their outputs may be incomplete or inaccurate.
• Some organisations build systems that combine LLMs with verified SFIA content. These can be valuable when designed and reviewed by experienced professionals.
• Always use official SFIA content from the SFIA Foundation as the reference for any AI prompts for profiling.
• AI tools can save time and can support analysis, but professional review and validation remain essential.

Integrity and accuracy

• Use only verified SFIA content from official SFIA Foundation sources
• Validate all skills profiles against official framework documentation
• Respect SFIA’s design principles
• Base decisions on evidence, not assumptions or inferred content
• Ensure assigned skills and levels reflect demonstrable evidence
• Be guided by the SFIA Foundation page 'Building SFIA-based Skills Profiles'

Explainability

• Skills profiles presented without explanation can reduce clarity and confidence for the consumer
• Good practice is to document the rationale (as described in the Skills profiling guidelines), not just the outcome.
• Record the SFIA version used and date of the skills profile.
• Provide a summary of this information to help understand of the basis of skills profiles in general.
• Use clear language and avoid assuming familiarity with SFIA terminology, when discussing or presenting skills profiles.

Maintenance

Skills profiles are valuable assets that need to be maintained up to date.

• Changes to team structures and role responsibilities must be reflected in updated and new skills profiles.
• Periodically review skills profiles for updated versions of SFIA.