VCSE Engineering
VCSE Engineering is a hands-on workshop qualification whose digital content sits mainly in Unit 2, where CAD and CAM, CNC machining, laser cutting and 3D printing, with their slicing and machine settings, are listed among the processes learners can use to produce components, and where planning, risk assessment and inspection evidence suit spreadsheets. Both NEA units must be submitted digitally and Unit 2 evidence can include annotated photographs, tables and charts, while Unit 1 involves research into the engineering sector in Wales and the Unit 3 written test is on paper only. The single biggest thing KS3 should build is confident use of CAD and CAM, from an accurately dimensioned drawing to a laser cut or 3D printed part made with sensible machine settings and checked against the drawing.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Level 1 and Level 2
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital work
- Medium
- Specification
- Open the specification
- Step before
- Foundation Engineering, Entry Level and Level 1
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1: Introduction to the Engineering Sector: Non-examination assessment 8 hours, 20%, 40 marks, set and marked by WJEC, available via Portal
- Unit 2: Applying Engineering Processes: Non-examination assessment 26 hours, 60%, 145 marks, set by WJEC, marked by the centre and moderated by WJEC
- Unit 3: Engineering Principles: Written test 1 hour, 20%, 60 marks, set and marked by WJEC, paper format only
Skills that use Storing and sharing
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Preparing and submitting NEA evidence as digital files
Both NEA units must be submitted digitally, either typed or handwritten and scanned. Learners need to save, name, scan, combine and upload plans, risk assessments, tables and photographs reliably.
DCF: Storing and sharing
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils save their project work in a named OneDrive folder with clear file names and hand it in through a Teams assignment.
- Year 8
- Pupils scan a handwritten risk assessment with the Teams or Office Lens camera, save it as a PDF and attach it to their assignment.
- Year 9
- Pupils combine a typed operations plan, scanned sketches and annotated photos into one PDF, check it opens and reads correctly, and use version history to recover an earlier draft.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Section 3.2, Unit 1 and Unit 2, page 38
“The non-examination assessment must be submitted digitally, either as scanned handwritten responses or completed digitally.”
Progression step 3
I can manage files and folders locally or online, e.g. move files to a folder.
I can upload files from a local drive to online storage.
Progression step 4
I can use appropriate advanced file management techniques, e.g. version history, restore previous version, tagging, compression.
Progression step 5
I can make informed choices about file types and understand compatibility issues, e.g. the difficulties of editing PDFs, differences between sound files.
Good to know
- CAD and CAM are not compulsory. Centres need "At least one of the following pieces of equipment for other engineering processes" (Unit 2, page 17), and that list puts a brazing hearth and welding equipment alongside a laser cutter, 3D printer, CNC machines and "CAD/CAM Software and Hardware." No software package is named.
- Both NEA units are submitted digitally: "The non-examination assessment must be submitted digitally, either as scanned handwritten responses or completed digitally." (Unit 1, page 38), and Unit 2 evidence "must be submitted digitally" (page 38).
- The Unit 1 tasks are released online: "The assessment will be available via Portal." (Summary of assessment, page 5).
- The Unit 3 test is not on screen: "Unit 3 is a written test, available in paper format only." (page 5).
- AI rules apply to all NEA, which must follow "the JCQ Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use in Assessments" guidance (Section 3.3, page 39), and during supervised tasks teachers "must not provide feedback on the evidence being produced." (page 39).
- Appendix A (pages 46 and 47) maps Digital Competence Citizenship, Interacting and Collaborating and Producing to Unit 1 only, and Data and Computational Thinking to all three units, including planning (2.2.1), risk assessment (2.2.3), other engineering processes (2.3.4), machine settings (2.3.6) and the technical drawing sections of Unit 3.
Links with other qualifications
CAD, laser cutting, 3D printing and risk assessment overlap closely with GCSE Design and Technology, and the spreadsheet inspection and risk tables build the same data skills as Mathematics and Numeracy. Researching a sector in Wales and digital NEA submission are shared with the other VCSEs, such as Built Environment.
Source: WJEC Level 1/Level 2 VCSE Engineering specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027, for award from 2029 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).