Digital Production, Design and Development - T Level

This T Level is intended for those who want to progress to a career in the Digital sector, focusing on software design and development. At the end of the Technical Qualification, you 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 employed in the digital sector.

You should have a clear idea of the industry sector you wish to pursue as a career and the type of job role you 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.

You will complete a minimum of 315 hours as part of your 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 they 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

Aged 16-18

If you will be aged 16, 17 or 18 on 31st August prior to the start date of your course and you have the legal right to remain in the UK for the duration of your programme then your study with us will be free. Please see here for the documents you will need to show us.

Some courses will have other associated costs, such as for specialist materials and trips. Many of our students are eligible for financial support, see here for details.

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