1. SFIA in Higher Education
Kevin Streater
Executive Director, Employer Engagement
IT & Telecoms
The Open University
2. Who We Are: Facts about the OU
The UK’s largest University
Over 251,000 students registered with us this year
The OU currently makes over 44,000 academic awards annually
Since 1971 the OU has made over 778 000 academic awards
778,000 awards,
including over 310,000 first degrees & over 47,000 higher degrees
The OU has a 40-plus year partnership with the BBC and has co-
produced programmes such as Coast, S
d d h C t Seven A Ages of B it i Th
f Britain, The
Virtual Revolution and Bang Goes The Theory
The OU was awarded The Queen’s Anniversary Prize for TESSA
Queen s
(Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa) in 2009 – 430,000 primary
school teachers in 13 African countries benefit from OU audio and
materials in the classroom
2
3. Our Value: Innovative Learning
• Recognised Brand • Innovative Approach
• Reliable Partnership • High Quality Content
• Scale and Reach • Courses meet diverse
• Best-in–Class
Best in Class Pedagogy needs
• Proven e-Learning Platform • Flexible & Adaptable
• Blended learning model • Outcome-based Delivery
with Associated Lecturer’s • Future-Proof Pathways
• Tutor support • Scalable Solutions
• Fit for Purpose • Skills Transformation
The OU is a world-leader in the provision of Learning & Teaching
Solutions
4. ‘IT professional workforce central
IT
to economic recovery’
‘Globalisation and convergence have had major impacts on
the IT & Telecoms workforce a d the sec o has
e e eco s o o ce and e sector as
experienced the effects of recent economic developments.
However, the sector is expected to make a fast recovery.
In addition, it is clear that the IT & Telecoms professional
workforce will be central to the UK’s economic recovery.’
(e-skills UK Technology Counts UK: IT & Telecoms Insights 2010)
5. The Open University Portfolio
• A range of Computing and ICT modules and qualifications geared to meet
the needs of those wishing to enter careers in the IT industry or to further
their knowledge in specialist areas
• Take anything from short, individual non-accredited courses through to a full
post graduate
post-graduate qualification
• A flexible and modular approach to building up qualifications to suit student
and partner requirements
• Q lifi ti
Qualifications available i l d
il bl include:
– BSc (Hons) Computing
– BSc (Hons) Information and Communications Technologies
– Foundation Degree in Computing and its Practice
– Certificate in Web Applications Development
– Postgraduate Diploma in Software Development
– MSc in Computing for Commerce and Industry
• Over 29,000 active students studying for qualifications in IT
6. Breadth of Portfolio
The Open University has a portfolio of:
• 570 Accredited Courses
• 276 Qualifications
• 76 Continuous Professional Development
short courses
• …and an ever increasing number of
and
accreditation frameworks.
The challenge we have had is to make this vast
resource of learning relevant and applicable to
today’s IT professionals.
7. Our Challenge
The challenge the Open University
faced was to present the OU’s
accredited courses & qualifications and
CPD short courses t the IT industry in
h t to th i d t i
a way that the industry could
understand and engage with. This
would enable the traditional broch res
o ld brochures
to be dispensed with and allow
corporate learning buyers to purchase
OU offerings in an easier way
way.
8. Solution
The solution has to use the language of the IT industry rather than details of
courses & qualifications. The obvious bridge between the two worlds was the
SFIA framework as it is understood on both sides of the discussion.
9. SFIA Tools
• We determined that by storing the mapping between skills, courses and
qualifications in an online tool it would be possible to bring efficiency to the
process of identifying the right learning solutions to support an employees
learning plan.
l i l
• This concept could then be extended to the Open University’s website for IT
employers and students.
Job profile
Courses and Qualifications
Enhanced Career Development
10. SFIA Framework
• S
SFIA v4 is sector specific competency
f
framework
• Used to describe roles in the IT &
Telecoms Sector
• Key Drivers are to enable:
– Business Effectiveness
– Productivity
– Resource Planning
– Capability Mapping
– Mergers and Acquisitions
11. The OU SFIA Project
The OU SFIA project has developed over the last year and comprises of
four major components:
1. Publically accessible SFIA skills map which shows relevant courses mapped
y p pp
to SFIA skills.
2. A set of generic IT industry roles mapped on to the SFIA skills map. The
starting point for this was to use the roles defined by the Government IT
Profession.
3. A self-assessment tool that OU careers advisors and employers could use
to determine the most relevant OU offering to support a development plan
plan.
4. A more accessible interface on the OU website.
12. Benefits for business
The benefits to business include:
1. Tool to enable appropriate staff
development plans to be put in place
place.
2. A set of generic industry roles that can
be used as a starting point.
3. Empowers employers to provide advice
and guidance to staff looking to develop
higher level skills.
13. Benefits for The Open University
The benefits for The Open University include:
1. An understanding of the strengths/weaknesses of the existing curriculum in
respect to today s IT profession.
today’s profession
2. Information to determine where future module development activities could
be targeted.
3. Self-help tools for the OU careers service to provide better information to
potential future OU students
14. New Offerings
-N
Negotiated F
ti t d Foundation D
d ti Degree
T122
Level 1 30credits Career development and employability
M150
Level 1 30credits
Data, computing and information
, p g
MT127
Level 1 30credits Certified Practitioners 1
Foundations Degree in Microsoft MCP or CCNA plus SFIA level 2 skill
U122 Make your experience count
k i
Combined Professional Level 1 30credits
Practice Work experience/training
T216
Level 2 60credits
Cisco Networking
CCNA
M263
Level 2 30credits Building blocks of software
T227
Level 2 30credits Change, strategy and projects at work
15. Open University SFIA Tools Website
http://www.openuniversity.co.uk/it
http://www openuniversity co uk/it
16. For more information please contact:
http://www.openuniversity.co.uk/it
Kevin Streater
Executive Director, Employer Engagement
IT & Telecoms Sector
Business Development Unit
The Open University
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes MK7 6AA
United Kingdom
Mob: +44 7802 933974
Email: k.streater@open.ac.uk
