Last updated: 28 Mar 2008

From life-saving medicines to technologies such as satellite navigation that helps people find any place on the planet, new products are constantly improving our lives. Working in manufacturing gives young people the chance to innovate, use their creativity and be part of something that makes a difference.

The Diploma is built around the themes of business and enterprise, product design and materials science, and production systems. Learning can be in any of the five sub-sectors: food; apparel and textiles; processing; chemicals, polymers and pharmaceuticals; engineering materials.

Learners will investigate product design and the product development cycle, considering how manufacturers must fulfil customer requirements while having a sense of environmental responsibility.

Learners will develop skills that enable them to be adaptable in a changing world and to apply their knowledge in a range of settings. As they plan their work and manage their time efficiently, they develop teamworking and self-management skills. When testing materials and considering ways to reduce waste and improve quality, they will interpret and use data. Through designing products, they will use their creativity and improve their IT skills.

They will learn about their own abilities through self-assessment, knowledge that will help them in all walks of life, and gain valuable experience of the world of work through engaging with a wide range of jobs in the sector, from technicians and craftspeople, to research and laboratory assistants, to marketing directors and quality assurance managers.

Exemplar materials

For examples of how to build applied learning, funtionals skills and personal learning and thinking skills into your teaching and learning for environmental and land-based studies are available, see the related links on the right.