SFIA Assessments

SFIA is the Skills Framework for the Information Age. It is a comprehensive skills framework that defines the skills and competencies needed by individuals who design, develop, implement, manage and protect the data & technology powering the digital world.

It provides a framework consisting of professional skills on one axis and seven levels of responsibility on the other. It describes the professional skills at various levels of responsibility, allowing individuals and businesses to easily identify relevant skills.

A SFIA assessment is an assessment of an individual’s skills and competencies against the SFIA framework. Usually, a small number of skills are selected (e.g. up to 6) and the individual’s prior work experience is reviewed to determine which level of responsibility they are working at.

General training for SFIA is available from the network of Training Partners who are assessed and approved by SFIA Foundation.

Training is available at the following levels:

• Foundation
• Practitioner
• Consultant

Further details on SFIA general training can be found on the SFIA website.

A SFIA Assessor course is currently being piloted and further details will be available on the SFIA website in due course.

There are three types of assessment available:

• Self-Assessment
  • As the SFIA framework is available, free of charge, for personal use, individuals can do their own self-assessment. By accessing the available resources from SFIA Foundation, individuals can select the skills, compare their own work experience against the skill descriptions and determine which level they feel they operate at.
• Independent Assessment
  • A skills assessment can be conducted by the individual’s line manager, HR manager, academic supervisor or similar, as long as that person has experience of using the SFIA framework.
• Certified Assessment
  • A certified assessment is carried out by an approved SFIA Assessor using an approved assessment scheme method. If the applicant is successful, a digital badge is awarded, demonstrating the individual has been independently verified as working at that skill level.

All assessments will require the individual to collate evidence that they have been performing at the skill level being claimed. For a certified assessment, the assessor may also collect evidence from colleagues and peers. An assessment interview may also be required.

• Provisional results: After completing the Foundation examination, candidates may receive provisional results either orally from the invigilator or on-screen at the end of an online exam.
• Official results: Once processed, official results, including a PDF breakdown of marks by syllabus area, are available in the APMG Candidate Portal. Results are issued as the total number of marks achieved.
• Processing time: Exam papers are usually marked immediately after the exam. APMG formally processes and confirms results via the Candidate Portal within 2 working days of receiving completed papers.
• Outstanding payments: In exceptional cases, results may be withheld until full payment has been received.

Once you’ve been notified that you’ve passed your exam, you will have the option to create a digital badge in APMG's Candidate Portal.

Visit APMG's Candidate Portal, view your exam results and select 'Create Badge'.

This takes you to the Credly website where the digital badges are hosted. You will be guided through the Credly account creation process.

Once you have created an account with Credly, log into the account and accept your pending badge.

Candidates will be able to claim their digital badge and electronic certificate from the APMG Candidate Portal within two business days of their exam result being issued.

If you are sitting the examination through an Accredited Training Organization, the cost of the exam is generally included in the course fee. Please ensure you confirm with your training provider that the exam is included in these costs. 

If you have selected a self-study option, please note that APMG-International uses a global pricing model for all exams. The examination fees for candidates attending a public exam centre are determined by the location where the exams are administered.

To find out the costs in your region, please refer to our examination portal or contact the APMG-International Service Desk (servicedesk@apmg-international.com).

Most, if not all, of our certifications come with at least one Sample Exam to help participants prepare for their exam. Access to the Sample Exams can be located on our website.

Some certifications do not require training in order to take the exam however, for most certifications, training is advised. 

For some certifications individuals also have the option to self-study in preparation for the exam and, when they are ready, can even take the exam from the comfort of their home or office.

You can find details of our self-study exams, available to purchase, via our public exams portal.