SFIAPlus


SFIAplus is the IT training and development model of the British Computer Society.
Based on the original Industry Structure Model, first published by the BCS in July 1986, which was remapped to the Skills Framework for the Information Age and rebranded as SFIAPlus.

Background

Responding to the wide recognition of the importance of an externally accredited professional development scheme, the BCS consulted with hundreds of contributors developing SFIAPlus to enable individuals and organisations to:
SFIAPlus is used by a large number of organisations, including many major companies, to apply quality control to the practical experience and training of ICT practitioners, and is widely used outside the UK, forming the basis of the European Informatics Skills Structure used throughout Europe.

SFIAPlus tools

While the first version in 1986 was produced as a paper publication, the complexity in SFIAPlus mean that it is best accessed using a software interface.
SFIAPlus can be browsed to access the full range of ICT competencies and tasks, and there are a number of additional tools:
; BCS Career Builder
; IT Job Describer
; Skills Manager
; Career Developer

Structure

While SFIA maps IT competencies in two dimensions and briefly describes the 263 tasks expected of a role in each of the 78 categories at the relevant level of seniority; SFIAPlus extends this with additional categories, making 86 specific skills and 290 tasks; adding a more thorough overview of each competency ; and providing significant detail behind each task description.
Task descriptions in SFIAPlus are supplemented by: