Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA)

About SFIA

The Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) is a global standard that defines digital and other related skills. SFIA is a large-scale international collaboration coordinated by the not-for-profit SFIA Foundation. 

SFIA identifies what digital skills, knowledge, behaviours and experience are needed in the workforce. Using SFIA provides opportunities for learning, career pathways and transferable skills across the digital workforce within the public sector.

Benefits of agencies using SFIA

New Zealand has a country licence for the use of SFIA. Adopting SFIA in your agency can help support the digital capability of your workforce.

A wider uptake of SFIA across the public service will have a range of benefits.

• At the highest level, SFIA provides a common language and measures to support mobility and workforce flexibility.
• SFIA can support agency and public service level understanding of the capability of the public service workforce.
• Agencies’ use of the common role descriptions integrating SFIA as foundations will lead to increases in efficiency, for example, when developing new job descriptions.
• Managers will have a clearer idea of what skills they should be looking for in a candidate.
• For individuals in the public service workforce, the SFIA skills framework will help people understand what skills they have in the digital space, and what may be needed for up-skilling, re-skilling or a change in role.

How SFIA can help the public service

The New Zealand Whole-of-Country licence means that New Zealand agencies have access to an agreed common language for digital skills that can be used by employers, workers and recruiters to:

• map and support consistent career development pathways for digital workers
• identify skills shortages and ensure skills supply is targeted where the public service most needs it
• refine and reduce the number of job titles in the public service
• support career development, re-skilling and/or up-skilling plans
• identify existing skills that can be better utilised
• map the future skill needs of an organisation, and create a common language for describing skill needs across the sector
• appropriately describe the skills needed and contribute to the common language
• be a national basis for skills assessment, development, and transfer across providers/pathways/courses, for example, by government, industry, and providers.

SFIA self-assessment

A skills framework like SFIA provides a certain standard of skills, knowledge and behaviours and skills assessment opportunities which can be used to track skills gaps within the workforce.

The results of skills assessments support more efficient targeting of learning and development opportunities. If SFIA is used consistently across agencies, skills might then be evaluated and compared based on the standard set by the skills framework.

Self-assessment is an important step in any skills or competency assessment and is a valuable way to support professional development. A self-assessment can be completed independently by individuals, as a review and reflection of their work experience, skills and responsibilities.

A self-assessment is also commonly a necessary input to managed processes such as:

• job applications and interviews
• one-to-one conversations with a line manager, practice manager or career mentor — discussing performance and professional development needs
• an application for registration or certification with a professional body
• a formal SFIA skills assessment by an independent assessor.

For a variety of reasons, individuals may over or under-estimate their skills and skill levels. It can be difficult to be objective and impartial in a self-assessment.

• SFIA helps by providing a structured framework, with clear incremental skill level descriptions to aid objectivity.
• Accuracy and robustness are improved by using a self-assessment process which relates SFIA skills to documented evidence of workplace experience.

Following the guidelines means that a SFIA-based self-assessment provides a good starting point for professional discussions related to work experience, achievements, skills and professional development.

Self-assessment guidelines — SFIA

Use SFIA

SFIA and the SFIA Foundation

SFIA is used by government agencies, private enterprises and individuals throughout the world for workforce development, recruitment of staff, career path frameworks, skills assessment and much more.

The New Zealand Whole-of-Country SFIA licence (SFIA-NZ) is managed on behalf of the New Zealand government by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), contact GCDO@dia.govt.nz for further details.

The GCDO:

• manages the Whole-of-Country SFIA licence (SFIA-NZ) on behalf of the New Zealand government 
• is strongly encouraging public service agencies to use SFIA as a core digital capability framework for the public service
• will contribute to the future development of the SFIA Framework.

SFIA is free to use in New Zealand 

New Zealand individuals, public sector and private sector organisations can use SFIA for free through the New Zealand government’s Whole-of-Country licence.

This includes commercial use and incorporation of SFIA into your own products within New Zealand. You need to register as a SFIA Partner and properly acknowledge SFIA. There may be additional fees in some circumstances, see Additional fees below. 

Non-New Zealand entities are not covered by the New Zealand Whole-of-Country SFIA licence. If New Zealand is not your main place of business, you may need your own licence to use SFIA within New Zealand. For licensing details, visit the SFIA Foundation. 

Using and licensing SFIA — SFIA

How to access SFIA and register with the SFIA foundation

You can access all SFIA resources, including full copies of the framework and guidance material on the SFIA Foundation website.

All users should register on the SFIA Foundation website. Some downloads require registration, and you can also choose to receive information about updates, news, further guidance and opportunities to get involved.  

Register for SFIA:

1. Select Log in / Register from any SFIA web page 
2. Select New Zealand as the country 
3. Accept the terms of use 
4. Choose ‘free licence’ — personal or corporate, as appropriate

If you’re providing SFIA services

Where you or your business is providing SFIA services as well as registering above, you should separately contact the SFIA Foundation to be listed as a SFIA Partner. 

Acknowledge the use of SFIA

Using SFIA within your organisation

If you are using SFIA within your organisation, there are no acknowledgment requirements. 

You may wish to show a User Logo internally or externally to show your commitment to developing your workforce.

This SFIA User logo or alternatively a SFIA User Digital Badge is available from the SFIA Foundation.

SFIA Corporate User Logo — SFIA

Incorporate SFIA into your products or services

If you want to incorporate SFIA into products or services that you provide to others or if you want to map products or services to SFIA then you must acknowledge SFIA. This applies whether your products and services are for profit or not-for-profit.

The minimum acknowledgement you can use is one of the following with a link to the NZ Country licence page: 

• Hyperlinked text only: Powered by SFIA-NZ 
• Hyperlinked image:

• Where your product does not support hyperlinks, you can use the following:

This publication contains information from the Skills Framework for the Information Age used with permission from the SFIA Foundation.

Terms and conditions  

Registration on the SFIA Foundation website and correctly acknowledging SFIA is part of the terms and conditions for the Whole-of-Country SFIA licence.

Some uses are not covered by the Whole-of-Country SFIA licence. 

To use SFIA in any of the following ways, you need to have a discussion with the SFIA Foundation and pay the applicable fees:

• selling services or products containing SFIA for profit outside New Zealand 
• selling tools that contain SFIA (royalties may apply) 
• providing SFIA based training for profit 
• seeking or maintaining SFIA accreditation for individuals 
• issuing SFIA credentials as part of an accreditation scheme.

For further information, download the Whole-of-Country SFIA licence and SFIA General Terms and Conditions.

Additional fees

The majority of SFIA use is covered by the New Zealand Country SFIA licence — however in the following situations, there are additional agreement fees:

• Outside of New Zealand — commercial exploitation of SFIA outside of New Zealand is subject to an uplift charge to a full international SFIA Partner licence.
• Royalties in respect of SFIA support tools — sales by NZ entities for use in NZ of commercial SFIA support tools incur royalties at the beneficial rate of 2.5% of sale price, before any discounts are applied. Outside of NZ, the royalty rate is as normal.
• SFIA training — commercial SFIA training incurs a per seat fee.

Support and training

For other training and accreditation providers:

• see the list of SFIA Partners
• talk to an accredited SFIA consultant (fees apply)
• discuss with the SFIA Foundation.

SFIA Partners — SFIA

Contacts

For official and authoritative information about SFIA, the content of the SFIA Framework and enquiries about SFIA, email busadmin@sfia-online.org.

For matters related to New Zealand’s Whole-of-Country licence and how it applies to you, email GCDO@dia.govt.nz.

General help and SFIA advice

For help using SFIA, including training and accreditation.

Get help to use SFIA — SFIA

SFIA NZ licence questions and change requests

Visit the SFIA Foundation website and register as an individual to propose or review change requests.

Register for SFIA