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Global Skills Frameworks: Structuring the IT Workforce and Managing Role Evolution

Publisher IDC
Published Dec 06, 2025
Length 10 Pages
SKU # IDC20635543

Description

This IDC Perspective discusses global frameworks — SFIA, e-CF, SFw, and KWIV — that are fundamental tools for managing the modern IT workforce by providing detailed, standardized definitions for skills and competencies. Organizations must move past relying on simple job descriptions, which are mere distillations, and implement formal processes utilizing these frameworks to provide the comprehensive documentation required for a role or position. Crucially, systematic monitoring must be applied to detect and address role drift caused by individual interpretation, ensuring the workforce capabilities remain strategically aligned and defined."As IT organizations mature, structure becomes strategy. Standardized skills frameworks such as SFIA and e-CF give CIOs the tools to manage talent with the same rigor they apply to technology portfolios — linking capability, accountability, and innovation across a dynamic workforce," says Daniel Saroff, group vice president for Consulting and Research at IDC.

Table of Contents

10 Pages

Executive Snapshot

Situation Overview

Formal Documentation Versus Descriptive Distillation

The Challenge of Role Drift

Detailed Overview of Global and Regional Frameworks

Skills Framework for the Information Age

Relevant Information per Job Profile (Not Really a Role)

European e-Competence Framework

Relevant Information per Role

Skills Framework

Relevant Information per Role

Kwaliteit van Informatievoorziening

Relevant Information per Job Profile (Not Really a Role)

Framework Collaboration and Integration

Illustrative Example: KWIV and e-CF Combination

Scenario: Defining a Senior Information Manager Role and Job Profile

Illustrative Example: SFw, SFIA, and e-CF Combination

Scenario: Creating a Career Pathway for a DevOps Engineer

Advice for the Technology Buyer

Define: Establish Formal Role Documentation

Standardize: Implement Capability and Competence Measures

Monitor: Review to Counter Role Drift

Plan: Inform Strategic Organizational Design

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