Sfia Skills

---
name: SFIA Skills & Day Rates
description: "Answers questions about SFIA 8 levels, role-to-skill mappings, DDaT role equivalents, consultancy day-rate benchmarks and Lot 3 cloud-support team shapes for a G-Cloud submission. Not needed when the request is for the Lot 3 service definition or the pricing document; /arckit-uk-gcloud:sdd-lot3 and pricing produce those from the same data."
---

# SFIA Skills & Day Rates

Conversational knowledge about the SFIA 8 framework, skill levels, day rate benchmarks, role mappings, and Lot 3 (Cloud Support) service team compositions for G-Cloud submissions.

## Purpose

Provide instant answers to common questions about SFIA levels, typical day rates, role-to-skill mappings, and team compositions without requiring document generation. This covers the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) version 8 as used in G-Cloud Lot 3 submissions.

## When to Use

Activate when users ask about:

- What SFIA level a specific role maps to
- Day rate ranges for a given SFIA level or role
- How to map DDaT (Digital, Data and Technology) roles to SFIA skills
- Team compositions for common Lot 3 service types
- AI skills framework and how it maps to SFIA
- What skills/roles are needed for a specific type of cloud support service

## Quick Reference: SFIA Levels

| Level | Title | Autonomy | Typical Role | Day Rate Range |
|-------|-------|----------|--------------|----------------|
| 1 | Follow | Under supervision | — | — |
| 2 | Assist | Routine direction | — | — |
| 3 | Apply | General direction | Junior Consultant | £300–£450 |
| 4 | Enable | Autonomous | Consultant | £450–£600 |
| 5 | Ensure/Advise | Broad autonomy | Senior Consultant | £600–£850 |
| 6 | Initiate/Influence | Full autonomy | Principal Consultant | £850–£1,200 |
| 7 | Set Strategy/Inspire | Accountable | Director/Partner | £1,200–£2,000+ |

*Rates vary by skill scarcity, location, and clearance requirements.*

## Quick Reference: Common Role Mappings

| Role | SFIA Skills | Typical Level |
|------|-------------|---------------|
| Solution Architect | ARCH, TECH | 5–6 |
| Cloud Consultant | CNSL, ARCH | 5–6 |
| DevOps Engineer | CFMG, RELM, DLMG | 4–5 |
| Security Engineer | SCTY, SCAD, PENT | 4–5 |
| Project Manager | PRMG | 5 |
| Business Analyst | BUAN | 4–5 |
| Data Engineer | DENG, DBDS, DBAD | 4–5 |
| Service Manager | CSMG, SLMO, ITOP | 4–5 |

## Quick Reference: DDaT to SFIA

| DDaT Role | SFIA Skills |
|-----------|-------------|
| Software Developer | PROG, SWDN, TEST |
| DevOps Engineer | CFMG, RELM, DLMG |
| Data Engineer | DENG, DBDS, DBAD |
| Security Engineer | SCTY, SCAD, PENT |
| Technical Architect | ARCH, TECH |
| Service Manager | CSMG, SLMO, ITOP |
| Business Analyst | BUAN |
| Product Manager | PROD |
| Delivery Manager | PRMG |

## Quick Reference: AI Role Day Rates

| Role | SFIA Level | Day Rate Range |
|------|------------|----------------|
| AI Support Analyst | 3 | £350–£500 |
| AI/ML Engineer | 4–5 | £550–£800 |
| AI Solution Architect | 5–6 | £800–£1,200 |
| AI Strategy Consultant | 6 | £1,000–£1,500 |
| AI Ethics/Governance Lead | 5–6 | £800–£1,200 |
| AI Director/Partner | 7 | £1,500–£2,500+ |

*AI-specific skills command 10–25% premium over equivalent non-AI roles.*

## Common Lot 3 Service Archetypes

### Cloud Migration Service

Architect (ARCH 5–6) + Migration Engineer (DLMG 4–5) + DevOps (CFMG 4–5) + Test Engineer (TEST 4) + PM (PRMG 5)

### Managed Cloud Service

Cloud Ops (ITOP 3–5) + Monitoring (SLMO 3–4) + Problem Manager (PBMG 4–5) + Security (SCTY 4–5) + Service Manager (CSMG 4–5)

### Cloud Consultancy

Consultant (CNSL 5–6) + Architect (ARCH 5–6) + Strategy (STPL 5–6) + BA (BUAN 4–5) + Change Manager (CHMG 4–5)

### Cloud Security Service

Security Consultant (SCTY 5–6) + Assessor (INAS 5–6) + Pen Tester (PENT 4–5) + Security Engineer (SCAD 4–5) + BC/DR (BURM 5)

## Answering Questions

When answering SFIA and day rate questions:

1. **Check the quick reference tables above first** for common lookups
2. **Consult `references/sfia-skills.md`** for the full skill catalogue (30+ skills across 6 categories), detailed team compositions, the UK Government AI Skills Framework (3 domains, 3 levels, adoption pathway), and AI-enabled service combinations
3. **Always note that rates are indicative** — actual rates vary by skill scarcity, geographic location, security clearance requirements, and market conditions
4. **Map roles to specific SFIA skill codes** when possible (e.g., ARCH for Solution Architecture, not just "architecture")
5. **For AI roles**, reference both the SFIA level and the AI Skills Framework level (Entry/Mid/Managerial)

## Related Commands

These ArcKit commands use SFIA data:

| Command | SFIA Usage |
|---------|-----------|
| `/arckit:sdd-lot3` | Maps service roles to SFIA skills and levels (reads `sfia-skills.md` reference) |
| `/arckit:pricing` | Day rates informed by SFIA level benchmarks |

## Additional Resources

### Reference Files

- **`references/sfia-skills.md`** — Complete SFIA 8 reference with all cloud-relevant skills across 6 categories (Strategy & Architecture, Change & Transformation, Development & Implementation, Delivery & Operation, Security & Privacy, Data & Analytics, Infrastructure), full team composition tables for 4 service archetypes plus 4 AI-enabled service types, DDaT role mappings, the UK Government AI Skills Framework, AI skills adoption pathway, and SFIA skills enhanced by AI. Consult for any skill code, team composition, or AI framework detail not covered by the quick reference tables above.