Digital engineering technician / Skills England

Key information

Reference: OCC0266
Date updated: 14/09/2026
Level: 3
Route: Construction and the built environment
Regulated occupation: No

This is not the latest approved version of this apprenticeship. View the latest version

Details of the occupational standard

T-Levels logo T Levels focus on vocational skills and can help students into skilled employment, higher study or apprenticeships. Each T Level includes an in-depth industry placement that lasts at least 45 days. Students get valuable experience in the workplace; employers get early sight of the new talent in their industry.

Occupation summary

This occupation is typically found in construction and the built environment sector. Digital engineering technicians could be employed by construction companies, architectural firms, engineering consultants, government agencies, property developers in addition to manufacturing such as those involved in prefabricated construction or off site manufacturing.

Digital engineers can work on a variety of projects including, buildings both residential, commercial and industrial buildings. Infrastructure such as road, bridges, railways and other transportation systems. Along with areas within the utilities sector.

Any organisation involved in the design, construction, or management of physical assets can benefit from the skills of a digital engineering technician. As the adoption of digital technologies in the built environment continues to grow, the demand for these professionals is likely to increase across various sectors.

The broad purpose of a digital engineering technician is to optimise the performance of built environment projects by using digital tools and techniques. This involves creating and managing digital models, visualisations, and data throughout the entire lifecycle of a project, from design and construction to operation and maintenance.

Digital engineering technicians bridge the gap between traditional engineering practices and digital technologies, enabling more efficient, sustainable, and innovative approaches to building and managing the built environment.

The apprentices will typically support digital engineers or other functional specialists in completing complex tasks using digital engineering techniques.

Digital engineering technicians interact with a wide range of people across the lifecycle of a built environment project including internal stakeholders such as, digital engineers, BIM managers, other technicians, engineers, architects, surveyors, information managers and construction managers. They could also interact with external stakeholders such as clients, consultants, contractors, suppliers and regulatory bodies.

A digital engineering technician has a diverse set of responsibilities that contribute to the success of built environment projects. They will create and manage digital models of buildings, infrastructure, or other assets. This includes incorporating architectural, structural and MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) elements. They will produce visualisations and simulations to help stakeholders understand complex engineering concepts. They will need to be aware of techniques to analyse design options for performance, energy efficiency, or constructability. They can be responsible for ensuring data accuracy, consistency, and accessibility throughout the project lifecycle. This includes organising and maintaining project data, managing revisions, and ensuring compliance with standards.

A digital engineering technician will collaborate with engineers, architects and other professionals to integrate digital tools and workflows into project delivery.

Typical job titles include:

Digital design technician Digital engineering technician

Occupation duties

Duty	KSBs
Duty 1 Comply with health and safety legislation and obligations along with organisational requirements, to protect your and others health, safety and wellbeing.	K1 K2 K3 K33 K35 S1 S2 S23 B1 B2
Duty 2 Comply with all relevant industry standards, legislation, compliance obligations, and organisational policies, plans and processes.	K1 K4 K6 K15 K17 K33 K35 S3 S5 S10 S12 S23 B2 B3 B4 B5
Duty 3 Promote sustainable practices and minimise environmental impact in digital engineering operations.	K4 K5 K33 S3 S4 S23 B2
Duty 4 Plan, organise and manage digital engineering activities in ways which use resources in consideration of cost, quality, time, safety, security and society.	K8 K9 K10 K11 K15 K16 K17 K26 K27 K30 K31 S7 S8 S10 S11 S12 S20 B4 B5 B6
Duty 5 Use quality and information management and assurance systems and processes, for example BS EN ISO 19650, recognising the need for these and their role in continuous improvement.	K20 K21 K22 K23 K25 K26 K31 K32 S15 S16 S17 S19 S20 S21 S22
Duty 6 Develop project information models, evaluate the quality of the generated data, and report any discrepancies.	K12 K20 K21 K22 K23 K24 K26 K31 K32 S15 S16 S17 S18 S20 S21 S22
Duty 7 Collect, analyse and interpret data to produce and coordinate digital models using industry specific software and tools.	K12 K15 K20 K23 K24 K29 K31 K32 S10 S15 S17 S18 S21 S22
Duty 8 Support the implementation of model coordination and mobilisation plans.	K21 K23 K24 K26 K27 K32 S16 S17 S18 S20 S22
Duty 9 Organising, measuring and managing project data throughout the life cycle.	K9 K16 K20 K21 K27 K28 K30 K31 K32 S11 S15 S16 S21 S22
Duty 10 Contribute to delivering activities and projects in support of the organisation’s digital strategies.	K7 K9 K12 K13 K14 K15 K17 K31 K32 K34 S6 S9 S10 S12 S16 S22 S24 B7
Duty 11 Integrate technology and innovation throughout the lifecycle of the project.	K7 K9 K15 K21 K22 K25 K26 K28 K29 K30 S6 S10 S16 S19 S20
Duty 12 Maintain information records utilising the relevant standards and technology.	K11 K15 K16 K19 K22 K26 K27 K28 K29 K32 S8 S10 S11 S14 S20 S22 B6
Duty 13 Work collaboratively and support others to meet stakeholder and quality requirements.	K8 K13 K14 K17 K18 K19 K27 K31 K33 K34 K35 S7 S9 S12 S13 S14 S21 S23 S24 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7

KSBs

Knowledge

K1: Health and safety regulations and procedures, relevant to the industry, occupation and responsibilities. Back to Duty

K2: The implications of poor health, safety and welfare performance. Back to Duty

K3: Principles and techniques of identifying, recording and tracking health and safety risks to safe working practices. Back to Duty

K4: Environmental and sustainability regulations, legislation, standards and guidance. Back to Duty

K5: Sustainability principles and techniques. Back to Duty

K6: Engineering regulations, legislation, codes, standards, policies and strategies that impact the industry and support the delivery of operational requirements. Back to Duty

K7: Established and emerging technology within the industry. Back to Duty

K8: Planning, prioritising, work scheduling and time management techniques. Back to Duty

K9: The life cycle of construction project and how this relates to digital engineering. Back to Duty

K10: Financial and contractual obligations in construction projects. Back to Duty

K11: Principles and techniques of quantification and costings within a digital environment. Back to Duty

K12: Design Process: Principles, practices and management. Back to Duty

K13: Roles and responsibilities within the construction industry, how they relate to one another and where your organisation sits. Back to Duty

K14: The purpose of their role within the organisation, including their level of responsibility, accountability and when to escalate tasks and issues and to whom. Back to Duty

K15: Information technology and digital systems used to support digital engineering operations. General data protection regulation (GDPR). Cyber security. Back to Duty

K16: Quality assurance procedures and monitoring processes during the life cycle of the built asset. Back to Duty

K17: Organisational and client objectives, requirements and value; Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Key performance indicators (KPI’s). Back to Duty

K18: Collaborative working techniques with internal and external stakeholders including own team members and the exchanging of information. Back to Duty

K19: Verbal and written communication techniques. Giving and receiving information. Adapting style to audience. Plain English principles. Barriers in communication and how to overcome them. Specific terminology Back to Duty

K20: Types, quality and ethical data analysis techniques. Back to Duty

K21: Principles of ISO 19650 – managing information with building information modelling (BIM) including BIM execution plans (BEP), capability and capacity assessment (CCA), master information delivery plan (MIDPs) and Task information delivery plans (TIDPs). Back to Duty

K22: Information and documentation for open-format information exchange for example Industry foundation class (IFC), construction organisation building information exchange (COBie). Back to Duty

K23: Principles of model federation and clash detection. Back to Duty

K24: Principles and practices of digital information model checks and data validation. Back to Duty

K25: Principles and practices of a common data environment (CDE). Back to Duty

K26: 3D, 4D (time) and 5D (cost) modelling: Principles, benefits, practices and techniques. Back to Duty

K27: Principles and techniques of reality capture technology and data. Photogrammetry, drones, laser scanning, GPR, LIDAR, Point cloud (data). Back to Duty

K28: Public source data: Ordinance Survey data, open maps. national LIDAR programme. National Underground Asset Register (NUAR). Back to Duty

K29: Asset legacy information: how it is obtained and managed. Back to Duty

K30: Principles of developing information to support management of the asset throughout the whole lifecycle. Back to Duty

K31: Problem solving tools and techniques. Back to Duty

K32: Methods of interpreting and extracting information for example health and safety information, manufacturer's instructions, drawings, plans, specifications or reports. Back to Duty

K33: Principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace. Unconscious bias. Back to Duty

K34: Sources of continuing professional development (planned and unplanned) and recording methods. Back to Duty

K35: Personal wellbeing and mental health awareness. Back to Duty

Skills

S1: Follow health and safety regulations and procedures. Back to Duty

S2: Identify, health and safety risks to safe working practices. Back to Duty

S3: Comply with environmental and sustainability regulations, standards and guidance. Back to Duty

S4: Apply sustainable principles and techniques. Back to Duty

S5: Comply with engineering regulations, legislation, codes, policies, standards and strategies. Back to Duty

S6: Assist in applying engineering principles by using established and emerging technologies. Back to Duty

S7: Plan and prioritise own work in line with agreed time allowances. Back to Duty

S8: Prepare schedules and reports, for example quantity take offs. Back to Duty

S9: Recognise limitations of their role, seek input from others and escalate issues when required. Back to Duty

S10: Use information technology and digital systems. Comply with GDPR and cyber security regulations and policies. Back to Duty

S11: Apply quality assurance procedures and monitoring processes of your own work within the digital asset. Back to Duty

S12: Manage and comply with objectives, requirements and value including Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Key performance indicators (KPI’s). Back to Duty

S13: Work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders and as part of a team. Back to Duty

S14: Communicate with internal and external stakeholders using sector specific terminology through verbal and written means. Back to Duty

S15: Analyse and report different types of data according to its qualities. Back to Duty

S16: Input to the development of a BIM execution plan (BEP) and capability and capacity assessments. Back to Duty

S17: Federate building information model and carry out clash detection. Back to Duty

S18: Apply techniques to carry out digital information model checks and data validation. Back to Duty

S19: Apply the principles and practices of a common data environment (CDE). Back to Duty

S20: Produce 3D modelling as required within an organisational project In line with BEP requirements. Back to Duty

S21: Apply problem solving techniques, identifying issues. Propose solutions to problems. Back to Duty

S22: Extract and interpret information from sources. Back to Duty

S23: Apply and promote policies and practices to support equity, diversity and inclusion. Back to Duty

S24: Plan and undertake Continued Professional Development (CPD) to meet personal and organisational development. Evaluate CPD outcomes against any plans made. Back to Duty

Behaviours

B1: Take responsibility for own obligations for health, safety and welfare issues. Back to Duty

B2: Act professionally, considers their organisation's operational, ethical, safety and sustainability priorities. Back to Duty

B3: Contributes to equity, diversity, and inclusivity workplace culture. Back to Duty

B4: Recognise limitations, seek input from others and escalate issues when required. Back to Duty

B5: Collaborate within teams, across disciplines and with internal and external stakeholders. Back to Duty

B6: Respond and adapt to work demands and situations. Back to Duty

B7: Committed to maintaining and enhancing competence of self through continued professional development (CPD). Back to Duty

T Level in design, surveying and planning for construction

Awarding organisation: Pearson

Qualification type: T Level Qualification level: 3 Qualification approved: 01/04/2020

T Level in design, surveying and planning for construction

Outline Content - Design, Surveying and Planning - PDF attached

There are no mandatory additional requirements

Visit Pearson for the current TQ information.

TQ Core

Your course starts by helping you get to grips with core knowledge of how the construction industry works, the principles of design and the role of technology and sustainability.

Overview

A T Level is split into three main sections:

technical qualification (TQ) is the main, classroom-based element. Students will learn about their chosen sectors through a curriculum designed by employers and developed by an awarding organisation (AO)
industry placement runs for a minimum of 315 hours (45 days) overall and will give students practical insights into their sector and an opportunity to embed the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom
English, maths and digital provision are also built into the classroom-based element of the T Level, meaning students will be given a solid foundation of transferable skills

Grading

The overall grade is subject to completion of all T Level requirements – not just the components of the technical qualification (TQ).

T Level grades combine students’ grades for the technical qualification core and occupational specialisms. For example: to be awarded a Distinction*, you must achieve an A* in the core and a Distinction in the occupational specialism(s).

As well as passing the relevant technical qualification, the following elements are required to achieve an overall T Level grade:

industry placement: This will be arranged and verified by the provider offering the T Level. For more guidance on next steps for provider visit GOV.UK
students are required to work towards improving attainment in maths and English if they have not already achieved grade 4 at GCSE or equivalent. Where students have attained, or attain during the course of the T Level, maths and or English qualifications at level 2, this will be referenced on any T Level certificates and/or statements of achievement

Students who do not pass all elements of their T Level will get a T Level statement of achievement which will show the elements they have completed.

Industry placements - how to get involved

Occupational specialism: Surveying and design for construction and the built environment

Qualification type: T Level

Qualification level: 3

Awarding organisation: Pearson

Approval date: 01/04/2020

Generation 1 awarding organisation: City & Guilds

Generation 2 awarding organisation: WJEC

Available from: 01/09/2020

Aligned occupational standards

Digital engineering technician OCC0266
Surveying technician - Building surveying OCC0332A
Surveying technician - Commercial property surveying OCC0332B
Surveying technician - Consultant (professional) project management OCC0332C
Surveying technician - Consultant (professional) quantity surveying OCC0332D
Surveying technician - Land surveying (including rural, minerals and waste management and planning and development) OCC0332E
Surveying technician - Residential property surveying OCC0332F
Surveying technician - Valuation surveying OCC0332G
Geospatial survey technician OCC0491

Alternative occupational specialisms

Building services design
This pathway is aligned to:
Building services engineering technician 2022 OCC0063
Civil engineering
This pathway is aligned to:
Civil engineering technician OCC0091
Railway engineering design technician OCC0315
Hazardous materials analysis and surveying
This pathway is aligned to:
Asbestos analyst and surveyor OCC0022

Technical education progression profile Find your nearest T Level provider

End-point assessment (EPA plan)

Rigorous robust and independent assessment undertaken by an apprentice at the end of training to test that the apprentice can perform in the occupation they have been trained in and can demonstrate the duties, and knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) set out in the occupational standard

End-point assessment organisation (EPAO)

An organisation approved to deliver end-point assessment for a particular apprenticeship standard. EPAOs must be on the register of end-point assessment organisations

Holistic or synoptic

Assessment of an apprentice’s knowledge, skills and behaviours in an integrated way i.e. assessing several KSBs at the same time

Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSB)

What is needed to competently undertake the duties required for an occupational standard

Valid

Referred to in relation to assessment methods; fit for purpose

Change request policy

Most changes to an apprenticeship are made as a result of a holistic review of it. We prioritise the need for such reviews based on a range of factors. These include:

the time since the apprenticeship was developed or last reviewed (taking account of its typical duration)
the existence of any known problems with it (e.g. lower than expected starts, low achievement rate, high withdrawal rate, any issues with the availability of training or end-point assessment provision)
whether the apprenticeship is currently subject to a dispensation
the relative significance of the apprenticeship based on how many users it has

The availability of an employer group to support a review and its potential impact on any related technical education product also inform the timing of a review.

Details of apprenticeships that are currently being revised or adjusted are available in our revisions and adjustments status report.

View occupation in map View apprenticeship standard

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Digital engineering technician

Key information

Details of the occupational standard

Occupation summary

Typical job titles include:

Occupation duties

KSBs

Knowledge

Skills

Behaviours

T Level in design, surveying and planning for construction

T Level in design, surveying and planning for construction

TQ Core

Overview

Grading

Aligned occupational standards

Alternative occupational specialisms

Share this page

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