Learning I have to do

The Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design will give you an insight into the fascinating business of manufactuing.  It will equip you with the skills and knowledge necessary to keep the UK at the forefront of global manufacturing.

The Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design is built around three main themes:

Product design and science:  Looks at the process of manufacturing a product, from the purchasing of raw materials to the sale of the finished product.

Business and enterprise:  Provides an intorduction to manufacturing as a business.

Production systems:  Looks at working practices.

Learning can be in any of the five sub-sectors: food; textiles and apparel; processing; chemicals, polymers and pharmaceuticals; and engineering materials.

What will I learn?

How is the Diploma made up?

Principle learning (subject learning you have to do)

At the heart of the Diploma are your core manufacturing and product design subjects.  These will teach you the main thinkgs you need to know about the sector.  You'll learn about the issues that are affecting the industry today, how it works and what skills you need to have to work within it.

Activities you might do in your principal learning:

Foundation Diploma:

Product design and science - you'll learn about the properties and characteristics of different materials.  You could, for example, perform appropriate testing, analysis and measurement techniques to investigate the nature and compositions of materials and substances.

Business and enterprise - You'll learn how manufacturing businesses operate and how they're affected by price, cost and competition.  You could, for example, calculate the cost of materials and labour needed to design and manufacture a new product.

Production systems - You'll learn about the departments and job roles in one fo the sub-sectors, the key lawas that apply in the workplace and activities carried out independently and in a team.  Working in a team, you could, for example,, put together a product design specification for a new product.

Higher Diploma:

Product design and science - You'll learn about the various stages in product design and development, and draw up a product design specification.  You could, for example, develop a product design specification for a new brand of football boots using computer-aided design to illustrate your proposals.

Business and enterprise - You'll learn how a manufacturing business is structured and how it uses financial records.  You could, for example, produce a financial schedule showing income and expenditure for a small business making jewellery.

Production systems - You'll learn how to follow a design specification and how to contribute to safety and efficiency when manufacturing a product.  You could, for example, use a production plan to make a product, safely using tools and manufacturing processes.