Digital Skills Agency

What Digital Skills Agency does

Digital Skills Agency Limited is a privately-held New Zealand digital capability consulting firm founded in 2018 and headquartered in Christchurch (Level 1, Awly Building, 293 Durham Street North), operating as a fully remote team of approximately 7 professionals across NZ and Australia. The firm specializes in the SFIA (Skills Framework for the Information Age), helping organizations clarify what digital skills they have, what skills they need, and how to manage capability through assessments, implementation, training, and ongoing support. It is the only SFIA Approved Assessment Partner in New Zealand and the exclusive licensed reseller of SkillsTX, the leading global SFIA SaaS platform, and issues SFIA Foundation-endorsed digital badges through Credly.

The company's product portfolio spans four pillars: SFIA Services (Digital Skills Assessment, SFIA Implementation, SFIA Training including 'SFIA in Practice'), SkillsTX Tools and Support (SkillsTX resale plus Managed SkillsTX and Managed SFIA Support), Talent Services (Recruitment under the Good People brand, Recruitment Support, and Coaching using CliftonStrengths, Reiss Motivation Profile, SFIA, and Belbin Team Roles), and Organizational Performance services (Organizational Design, IT Service Management, Agile Practices via the Agile People partnership). Technology components include the SFIA Accredited Assessment Scheme with video-call assessments and internal moderation, digital badge issuance via Credly under Open Badge Standards, and managed SkillsTX support services.

The business model is primarily professional services-based with recurring managed services overlays. Revenue is generated through quote-based SFIA consulting engagements, multi-year contracts with assessment credit purchases, annual SkillsTX SaaS reselling, and training/coaching fees. Customers include NZ government ministries and departments (Ministry of Social Development, Inland Revenue, Ministry of Justice, Health NZ), city councils, universities (Auckland, Canterbury, Otago, Massey), and enterprises across agriculture, retail, logistics, healthcare, and professional services. The firm has no disclosed external funding and is independently owned by its principals, Daniel and Mary-Anne Merriott.

Name

Digital Skills Agency

Legal name

Digital Skills Agency Limited

Website

https://digitalskillsagency.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Digital Skills Agency is a New Zealand digital capability consultancy that assesses, trains, and manages SFIA-based digital skills for government agencies, universities, and enterprises, operating as the only SFIA Approved Assessment Partner and exclusive SkillsTX reseller in NZ.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Skills & Capability Consulting

NAICS

Computer Training (611420), Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Enablement & Adoption Services (Change Management, Adoption, Champions) (BPAEANAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Technical & Digital Skills Training (BPACANAB), Training Delivery Services (Onsite/Virtual Instruction, Workshops, Coaching) (BPAEANAN), Skills Assessment & Talent/Employability Testing Platforms (EDAFADAM), Training Delivery Providers (In-Person, Virtual, Train-the-Trainer) (BPACANAM)

Keywords

• Digital capability consulting
• SFIA skills assessment
• Workforce training services
• IT skills management
• Talent recruitment consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Christchurch

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. SFIA Consulting Services: SFIA assessments, implementation support, and training services for organizations. Includes skills portfolio analysis, job mapping, integration into HR practices, and support for people leaders. Revenue generated through professional service engagements.
2. Managed Services: Managed SkillsTX and Managed SFIA Support services providing ongoing active support to help organizations embed SFIA practices. Recurring engagement model for long-term client relationships.
3. Recruitment Services: Full service recruitment including SFIA technical interviews, detailed skills reporting, and 'wise hiring decisions' method. Also offers recruitment support with technical interviews and decision making support.
4. Training Services: SFIA Accredited training for all levels including 'SFIA in Practice' hands-on training. Training courses for staff development, job design, skills assessment, and recruitment. Also includes Agile People ICAgile training.
5. Coaching Services: Professional growth, onboarding support, and leadership development. Coaches use tools including CliftonStrengths, Reiss Motivation Profile, SFIA, and Belbin Team Roles.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Digital Skills Agency is a New Zealand-based digital capability consultancy that assesses, trains, and manages digital skills across organizations using the SFIA (Skills Framework for the Information Age) framework. The firm delivers SFIA-accredited assessments (issuing verifiable digital badges via Credly), implementation consulting (job mapping, HR integration), accredited training programs, recruitment and coaching services, and organisational design and IT service management consulting. It also resells the SkillsTX SaaS skills management platform as the exclusive licensed reseller for New Zealand.

Product overview

Digital Skills Agency offers a comprehensive portfolio of SFIA-based consulting and assessment services. The core offering centers on the SFIA (Skills Framework for the Information Age) framework, comprising SFIA Services (Digital Skills Assessment, SFIA Implementation, and SFIA Training), SkillsTX Tools and Support (including managed services), Talent Services (Recruitment, Recruitment Support, and Coaching), and Organisational Performance services (Organisational Design, IT Service Management, and Agile Practices). The company also offers digital credentials through Credly, including SFIA Foundation Endorsed Badges (Skill Competency, Skill Proficiency, and Knowledge badges) via their SFIA Accredited Assessment Scheme, and proprietary training badges such as SFIA In Practice and Digital Skills Assessor Awards. SkillsTX is offered as the recommended and exclusively resold SaaS platform for skills assessment in New Zealand.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Digital Skills Assessment SFIA-accredited assessments for teams, skills portfolio analysis, and digital badge certification conducted by SFIA Accredited Assessors. Delivered to organisations seeking to inventory and validate digital workforce skills.
• SFIA Implementation Consulting service that maps roles to SFIA, integrates the framework into existing HR practices, and supports people leaders in adopting SFIA. Helps organisations align structure and roles to digital capability needs.
• SFIA Training SFIA Foundation accredited training for all levels, plus the 'SFIA in Practice' hands-on training program covering practical know-how for applying SFIA in real-world scenarios (online and in-person delivery).
• SkillsTX Software Resale Resale and licensing of the SkillsTX SaaS skills assessment and skills management platform, offered by Digital Skills Agency as the exclusive licensed reseller for New Zealand. Recurring annual subscription.
• Managed SFIA and SkillsTX Services Managed support services covering both SkillsTX platform administration and ongoing SFIA practice embedding inside client organisations, providing long-term, recurring support.
• Recruitment and Recruitment Support Full-service recruitment including SFIA technical interviews, detailed skills reporting, and the 'wise hiring decisions' method. Also includes recruitment support with technical interviews, decision-making support, partial hiring help, and advice on strengthening hiring processes. Operated under the Good People brand.
• Coaching Professional growth, onboarding support, and leadership development coaching delivered by ICF-trained coaches using tools including CliftonStrengths, Reiss Motivation Profile, SFIA, and Belbin Team Roles.
• Organisational Design and IT Service Management Performance consulting covering job design, career pathway mapping, organisation design, operating model refresh, and management team support, plus IT service management capability/maturity assessment, process troubleshooting, process design, tool implementation, and mentoring services.
• Agile Practices Training ICAgile training provided through a partnership with Agile People, supporting organisations with introducing business agility methods and Agile ways of working.
• Digital Badges (SFIA Foundation Endorsed) SFIA Foundation endorsed digital badges issued via the Credly platform for skills, knowledge, and competencies, including Skill Competency (red badges), Skill Proficiency (blue badges), and Knowledge (green badges). Badges are valid for 3 years with renewal options.

Quantifiable outcome

• Organizations can obtain SFIA Foundation endorsed digital badges for skills verification
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• CredlycoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with Credly (digital badging platform) to issue and manage digital credentials. Credly uses Open Badge Standards enabling badge holders to manage, share, and verify their competencies digitally. Credly receives only email, name, country, and badge details - no assessment evidence.
• SkillsTXcoreTechnology or IntegrationExclusive licensed SkillsTX reseller for NZ. SkillsTX is the leading global SaaS solution for SFIA. Digital Skills Agency offers managed support services using their experience as SkillsTX's longest-serving partner.
• Agile PeoplecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Agile People to provide ICAgile training. Supports clients with introducing business agility methods into their organizations.
• SFIA FoundationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSFIA Foundation Accredited Partner, Assessment Partner, and Training Provider. Among top global specialists in SFIA. Team subject to specific requirements set by SFIA Foundation including annual accreditation renewal.
• RCSAminorOthersCorporate Member of RCSA (Recruitment, Consulting & Staffing Association ANZ).
• ALGIMminorOthersPartnership with ALGIM (Information Management Association of NZ) as part of professional network.
• Good PeopleminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTrading name for recruitment services. Full service recruitment including SFIA technical interviews, detailed skills reporting, and 'wise hiring decisions' method.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm specializing in talent management, assessment, and workforce capability. Comparable because both operate at the intersection of HR consulting, skills frameworks, and large-enterprise digital capability uplift programs.
• Pluralsight: Enterprise technology skills training and assessment platform serving IT leaders. Comparable because both sell to IT leaders seeking to assess, develop, and certify digital skills across teams, although Pluralsight delivers content-led SaaS at much larger scale.
• Hays (Hays Recruitment): Global recruitment and workforce solutions firm with skills-assessment and capability-mapping offerings. Comparable to Digital Skills Agency because both blend recruitment services with structured digital skills assessment to support hiring and workforce decisions.
• Aon (Radford Talent Solutions): Global professional services firm offering talent assessment, benchmarking, and reward consulting including skills-based job architecture. Comparable to Digital Skills Agency because both help enterprises map, assess, and price digital talent capability across organizations.
• ManpowerGroup: Global staffing and workforce solutions provider with reskilling and digital skills assessment offerings. Comparable to Digital Skills Agency because both serve large enterprises and governments seeking to assess, develop, and deploy digital talent capability.
• Cognizant: Global IT services and digital transformation consulting firm that embeds digital capability uplift into enterprise engagements. Comparable because both consult to large organizations on digital workforce capability, though Cognizant operates at vastly greater scale and breadth.

Direct peers

• Lightcast (formerly Burning Glass Technologies): Skills taxonomy, labor-market analytics, and assessment provider built on standardized skill frameworks. Directly comparable to Digital Skills Agency's SFIA-based methodology because both center on a skills framework as the organizing principle for assessing workforce capability.
• SHL (Assessment Solutions): Global leader in workforce skills and talent assessment, providing standardized psychometric and digital skills assessment platforms to enterprises. Highly comparable to Digital Skills Agency because both monetize accredited assessment schemes that produce verifiable skill credentials for organizational decision-making.

Emerging players

• TestGorilla: Pre-hire skills assessment platform offering standardized digital skills tests for hiring. Comparable because it addresses the same organizational pain point — verifying what digital skills candidates and employees actually have — though delivered via self-serve SaaS rather than accredited human assessment.
• DevSkiller: Technical skills assessment platform focused on IT and developer hiring. Comparable to Digital Skills Agency because both produce verifiable evidence of digital skill proficiency for hiring and workforce development, though DevSkiller is automated and self-serve versus accredited human assessment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/digitalskillsnz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/digitalskillsagency

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Digital Skills Agency