Industrial designer
Design and Technology, Design and Technology and Business Studies at A level, then a Level 6 apprenticeship or a degree.
the nearest apprenticeship standard, a bachelor’s degree · 2 standards and 10 school subjects share ideas with this job · Skills England, ESCO, DfE subject content
Level 6 — 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: material selection, technical drawing, moulding, circular economy.
All subjects and shared ideas10
| Subject | Match | Shared ideas |
|---|---|---|
| A level Design and Technology | 1.00 | material selection, technical drawing, moulding, circular economy, material property |
| GCSE Design and Technology | 0.65 | surface treatment, scale drawing, prototype, component, tolerance |
| GCSE Business Studies | 0.64 | marketing mix, profit and loss, logistics, market research, procurement |
| GCSE Geography | 0.47 | proportion, scale, analysis, resource management, reliability |
| A level Business Studies | 0.34 | marketing mix, budgeting, motivation, leadership |
| A level Physical Education | 0.34 | performance evaluation, guidance, motivation, leadership |
| GCSE Mathematics | 0.27 | scale drawing, proportion |
| A level Computer Science | 0.25 | legal implications, protocol |
| GCSE Art and Design | 0.23 | painting, material |
| GCSE English Literature | 0.20 | analysis, evaluation |
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 Business Studies, 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
Industrial designers work out ideas and develop them into designs and concepts for a wide variety of manufactured products. They integrate creativity, aesthetics, production feasibility, and market relevance in the design of new products.
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.