Computer-aided design operator
Design and Technology, Design and Technology and Physics at A level, then a Level 3 apprenticeship straight after school.
the nearest apprenticeship standard, the same level as A levels · 2 standards and 8 school subjects share ideas with this job · Skills England, ESCO, DfE subject content
Level 3 — England’s qualification levels run 1–8: GCSE is 2, A level is 3, a bachelor’s degree is 6.
Which subjects build towards it?
Bar — strength of the overlap relative to the strongest subject (1.00); not a grade or an entry requirement.
DfE subject content · matched to the apprenticeship standards below by sch.today
Design and Technology leads because the job and the course share the same ideas: design for manufacture, physical property, ohm's law, circular economy.
All subjects and shared ideas8
| Subject | Match | Shared ideas |
|---|---|---|
| A level Design and Technology | 1.00 | design for manufacture, physical property, ohm's law, circular economy, ergonomics |
| GCSE Design and Technology | 0.66 | tolerance, manufacturing process, functionality, surface protection, marking out |
| GCSE Physics | 0.43 | electrical power, energy transfer, ohm's law, transformer, energy efficiency |
| A level Biology | 0.40 | energy transfer, procedure, energy efficiency, conservation, equipment |
| GCSE Art and Design | 0.28 | annotation, environment, material |
| GCSE Biology | 0.26 | terminology, scale, measurement, accuracy |
| GCSE Chemistry | 0.22 | melting point, scale, material property |
| A level Physics | 0.18 | energy transfer, ohm's law |
Which apprenticeships lead here?
Apprenticeship standard — the official list of what an apprentice in one job must know and be able to do; the level says how advanced it is. Level 3 can start straight after GCSEs.
Skills England, contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0
Where are these subjects taken most?
Secondary schools with at least 30 pupils in Year 11, ranked by the share taking Design and Technology, Design and Technology and Physics, weighted by how strongly each subject leads here.
Ranking — shows what pupils study, not how well a school prepares them for the job.
DfE subject entries
More schools9
What the job is
Computer-aided design operators use computer hardware and software in order to add the technical dimensions to computer aided design drawings. Computer-aided design operators ensure all additional aspects of the created images of products are accurate and realistic. They also calculate the amount of materials needed to manufacture the products. Later the finalised digital design is processed by computer-aided manufacturing machines that produce the finished product.
Occupations and their descriptions: ESCO classification of the European Commission, © European Union.
This is a model of overlapping content, not careers advice or entry requirements, which employers and training providers set. Occupations and their descriptions: ESCO classification of the European Commission, © European Union. Apprenticeship standards: Skills England, contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. School subjects and entries: Department for Education. Links between them are made by sch.today. Methodology.