Development and training

Develop

Planning and executing development activities to build capability and performance and to provide career pathways

The development of individual capability in line with the organisation’s needs is based on SFIA’s objective statements of competence.

SFIA can be used to help define development objectives by:

• identifying the skills or aspects of skills which need to be developed
• providing clarity on the targeted levels of competence
• helping to identify and reach agreement on how development can be achieved and what support is required

Support can be provided by a range of different interventions or activities, not just classroom learning or training courses: e.g. coaching, mentoring, stretch-tasks, work shadowing, training and certification, attending an external event, participating in special interest groups and communities of practice.

Proper analysis of how current skill levels affect an individual’s performance enables the construction of relevant development plans that really work. Obtaining value for money from training is always important. Creating focused development plans will make a real difference to the value obtained from the training budget.

Use of SFIA encourages appropriate individual growth, effective budgeting and a way to confirm skills development is in line with the organisation’s real needs.

SFIA can be used by employers to set education and training objectives for individuals and groups. It can also be used by providers of education and training to explain learning outcomes and improve the effectiveness. This helps employers to understand the relevance of qualifications and certifications, and to make targeted investment in training and education for existing staff.

The individual’s defined development needs can also be fed into the process by which individuals are assigned to tasks.