T Levels are a brand-new, 2-year qualification that you can do as an alternative to A levels, other post-16 courses or even Apprenticeships. They’re a great alternative because they offer classroom learning and, more importantly, an extended industry placement.
On the industry placement, you’ll get the opportunity to put your skills into practice, with plenty of on-the-job experience so you can successfully start your career. Let’s take a look at digital design and what you’ll learn on the course.
What is Digital Design?
Digital Design is a new T Level offered by Big Creative Education that fuses digital production, design and development, and is perfect for young people looking to start a career in digital.
Although digital can be considered quite broad, this T Level specifically focuses on software design and development.
The course has been designed alongside 200 businesses and employers so you can be sure that you’ll learn all the skills and knowledge you need to succeed in digital design.
Alternatively, if you’d prefer, you can go on to higher education, an apprenticeship or university to further specialise in an area of design and development.
What will you learn on the Digital Design course?
On the level 3 digital design course, you’ll spend about 80% of your time in the classroom and 20% on a 45-day placement with an employer.
The course lasts two years, giving you plenty of time to learn about digital design and put your skills into practice.
Between the classroom and the work placement, you’ll learn:
- Problem solving
- Programming
- Emerging issues and the impact of digital
- Legislation and regulatory requirements
- Business context
- Data
- Digital environments
- Security
These are all important areas of digital design, covering everything you need to know. Digital technologies have a significant impact on businesses these days, so understanding how to use data in your designs and learning about the best ways to use technology to analyse and solve business problems are head-turning skills great for any career. Additionally, you’ll look at exciting emerging technologies, such as IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and Blockchain, among many others.
As the world is changing so fast, technology is shaping the way we live and work. These emerging technologies are becoming important parts of the business world, so getting to grips with them early on in your career will stand you in good stead when it comes to getting your foot on the ladder.
Another key area of the course is in planning. Planning is incredibly important for software design and development, as it allows you to methodically craft the right solution for the problem at hand.
You’ll also go through the testing of software, hardware and data – again, this is another fundamental skill to have in this area.
Career opportunities in Digital Design
Upon completion of the course, you’ll gain a T Level 3 in Digital Production, Design and Development qualification.
This qualification can help you progress into an entry-level job if you feel you’re ready, or you could on to further studies.
If you do choose to dive straight into your career, BCE Digital Design students can expect the following job roles:
- 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
What does a Software Development Technician Do?
Software development technicians are an essential part of the software development process. They assist software developers by creating or compiling programs, fixing computer code, testing and documenting software, and other similar duties.
A technician may work directly with a developer as a secondary assistant, or they may work independently on projects that are assigned to them by a lead developer. Depending on the job you take as a software development technician, your responsibilities may change slightly.
What does a Software Developer do?
Software developers are the people who create computer programs to help businesses and users solve problems. They come up with new software ideas, known as “code” them, test them out, and release them to the public.
Software Developers use logical thinking and problem-solving skills to understand user needs and create software solutions. They might specialise in a particular field such as artificial intelligence, cyber security or user experience design. Different types of software developers include programmers, coders, hackers and coding specialists.
What does an Application Developer do?
An application developer is a role that focuses on developing software applications for businesses or individuals. Their job is to understand user needs and create programs that are easy to use, functional, and present solutions to user problems.
An application developer can specialise in a particular area such as business applications, mobile apps, or other types of business software. This job description covers several different types of positions with this title. A computer software developer creates new programs or updates existing ones. In most cases, they write code and test software so it functions correctly.
If you’d like to learn more about the T Level in Digital Design, visit our course page.
