Digital Production, Design and Development - T level

It is intended for students who want to progress to a career in the Digital sector, with a focus on software design and development. At the end of the Technical Qualification, students should have gained the core knowledge and skills related to software design and development and are well placed to develop complete occupational competence with additional development and support once in employment in the digital sector.

Students interested in studying the T level Digital Production, Design and Development should have a clear idea of the industry sector they wish to pursue as a career and the type of job role they would like to explore. The pathway has been designed and validated by a panel of digital employers and education providers to ensure it meets the progression routes and is relevant to industry needs.

Students will complete a minimum of 315 hours as part of their qualification in the industry on placement; this equates to 20% of your learning, and for the other 80% of the T Level, you will be learning in a classroom. Embedded within the T Level will be students learning English, Maths and Digital skills, weekly tutorials, and 2 hours of Education Enhancement Program where students will learn contextualised English/Maths and Digital skills.

Core Component

• Problem-solving
• Programming
• Emerging issues and the impact of digital
• Legislation and regulatory requirements
• Business context
• Data
• Digital environments
• Security

Occupational Specialism 

• Analysing a problem to define requirements and acceptance criteria aligned with designing, implementing and testing software
• Changing, maintaining and supporting software-creating solutions in a social and collaborative environment
• Discovering, evaluating and applying reliable sources of knowledge
• Applying ethical principles and managing risks in line with legal and regulatory requirements when developing software

You will need the following:

• 5 GCSEs at 9-4, inclusive of English and Maths
• Successful interview and assessment

All assessments are externally marked and are split into two sections the core component and the occupational specialist component, 

Core component:

Written Exam

• Core Paper 1: Digital Analysis, Legislation and Emerging Issues
• Core Paper 2: The Business Environment 

Employer Set project (externally set)

Occupational Specialist Component:

Externally set project

School Leavers

If you will be aged 16, 17 or 18 on 31 August in the year you begin your course, and have been resident in the UK/EU/EEA for the past 3 years, it will be free. Some courses will have other costs associated, such as for materials and trips. Many of our students are eligible for financial support when studying at college – please click here for more information.

Job roles and progression paths could include:

• Software Development Technician
• Junior Developer
• Junior Web Developer
• Junior Application Developer
• Junior Mobile App Developer
• Junior Games Developer
• Junior Software Developer
• Junior Application Support Analyst
• Junior Programmer
• Assistant Programmer
• Automated Test Developer

Higher education and training paths could include:

• Level 3 Software Technician (Apprenticeship)
• Level 4 Software Developer (Apprenticeship)
• Higher National Certificate/Diplomas
• BSc Computer Games Programming
• BSc Software Engineering BSc
• BA Virtual Reality Design
• BSc Computing
• BSc Digital Media Design and Development
• BSc Computer Science