T Level Design and Development for Engineering and Manufacturing: Skills Targets

This guide sets out the employability and technical skills targets for the T Level in Design and Development for Engineering and Manufacturing, broken down by occupational specialism. Use it to assign placement targets that align with each learner's specialism.

The four occupational specialisms below share the same set of employability skills targets, followed by specialism-specific technical skills targets.

Shared employability skills targets

These apply across Mechanical, Electrical and Electronic, Control and Instrumentation, and Structural Engineering:

• Self-managing: monitoring, reflecting and inviting feedback on own performance, managing time, setting personal goals, referring to others for advice.
• Communicating: active listening, use of visual, oral and written methods, engaging an audience, sharing, building rapport, adapting style and tone.
• Decision-making: clarifying logical choices, identifying likely impact, using evidence and advice, justifying, substantiating, concluding.
• Analysing: identifying common features, organising into types, discerning patterns, deconstructing, classifying, ordering.
• Planning: identifying discrete steps, estimating time and resources, prioritising, coordinating, sequencing activity.
• Investigating: identifying sources, developing search criteria/queries, interrogating data, designing and carrying out tests.
• Evaluating: considering and appraising process and evidence, making recommendations.
• Working in a team: collaborating with others with different skills, expertise and experience to accomplish a task or goal.
• Assessing risks: assessing a situation, proposal, product or process for potential adverse effects.
• Presenting: conveying information to an audience to stimulate discussion and secure consistent understanding.

Occupational Specialism: Mechanical Engineering

Technical skills targets

• Interpreting technical drawing symbols, annotations and diagrams in a range of formats.
• Using appropriate technology, including engineering software, to model and evaluate mechanical design features, issues, performance and potential.
• Understanding the impacts of different materials on design, using appropriate information sources and judgement to select, evaluate, recommend and confirm suitable engineering and manufacturing materials for specific uses.
• Using appropriate CAD software, tools and technology for engineering representation through drawings and models.
• Completing risk management analyses.
• Checking plans, drawings and models and providing feedback.
• Reviewing outcomes and assisting in communicating information to stakeholders.
• Completing analysis of legal and compliance issues in the workplace, including health and safety and commercial contracts.
• Basic understanding and application of timescales and project management.
• Evaluating and reviewing organisational functions including engineering management, supply chains, finance and marketing.

Occupational Specialism: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Technical skills targets

• Interpreting technical drawing symbols, annotations and diagrams in a range of formats.
• Using appropriate technology, including engineering software, to model and evaluate electrical/electronic design features, issues, performance and potential.
• Selecting, evaluating, recommending and confirming suitable engineering electrical/electronic circuit designs.
• Using appropriate CAD software, tools and technology for engineering representation through high-quality circuit diagrams and working models.
• Completing risk management analyses.
• Checking circuits and working models and providing feedback.
• Reviewing outcomes and assisting in communicating information to stakeholders.
• Completing analysis of legal and compliance issues in the workplace, including health and safety and commercial contracts.
• Basic understanding and application of timescales and project management.
• Evaluating and reviewing organisational functions including engineering management, supply chains, finance and marketing.

Occupational Specialism: Control and Instrumentation Engineering

Technical skills targets

• Interpreting technical drawing symbols, annotations and diagrams in a range of formats.
• Using appropriate technology, including engineering software, to model and evaluate control and instrumentation design features, issues, performance and potential.
• Selecting, evaluating, recommending and confirming suitable engineering control and instrumentation designs.
• Using appropriate CAD software, tools and technology for engineering representation through high-quality plans, diagrams and working models.
• Completing risk management analyses.
• Checking plans, diagrams and working models and providing feedback.
• Reviewing outcomes and assisting in communicating information to stakeholders.
• Completing analysis of legal and compliance issues in the workplace, including health and safety and commercial contracts.
• Basic understanding and application of timescales and project management.
• Evaluating and reviewing organisational functions including engineering management, supply chains, finance and marketing.

Occupational Specialism: Structural Engineering

Technical skills targets

• Interpreting technical drawing symbols, annotations and diagrams in a range of formats.
• Using appropriate technology, including engineering software, to model and evaluate structural design features, issues, performance and potential.
• Selecting, evaluating, recommending and confirming suitable engineering and manufacturing materials for specific uses.
• Using appropriate CAD software, tools and technology for engineering representation through drawings and models.
• Completing risk management analyses.
• Developing and testing models and providing feedback.
• Reviewing outcomes and assisting in communicating information to stakeholders.
• Completing analysis of legal and compliance issues in the workplace, including health and safety and commercial contracts.
• Basic understanding and application of timescales and project management.
• Evaluating and reviewing organisational functions including engineering management, supply chains, finance and marketing.

Source document attached below.