Foundation Engineering
Foundation Engineering is a two-year Entry Level to Level 1 work-related qualification for learners in Years 10 and 11, leading on to VCSE Engineering. Literacy sits mostly in Unit 1, where learners name, outline, describe and explain engineering roles, tools, processes and safety rules through talks, presentations, short reports and matching tasks, and in Unit 2, where they read risk assessments, write a task plan, record results and report faults. Numeracy sits in the Unit 2 workshop: reading dimensions and angles on drawings, marking out, measuring with steel rules, vernier callipers and micrometers, and working to tolerances that tighten from plus or minus 2 mm at Entry 1 to plus or minus 0.8 mm at Level 1. There are no formulae or written tests.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level and Level 1
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- Medium
- Amount of numeracy work
- Medium
- Specification
- Open the specification
- Next step up
- VCSE Engineering, Level 1 and Level 2
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1: Introduction to Engineering: Centre marked non-examination assessment, portfolio of evidence, maximum assessment time 9 hours (typically 7 to 9 hours), 36 guided learning hours, 48 points of the 112 qualification points, teacher-set tasks assessed in centre and moderated by WJEC, first available summer 2028
- Unit 2: Producing a Product: Centre marked non-examination assessment, portfolio of evidence, maximum assessment time 21 hours (typically 19 to 21 hours), 84 guided learning hours, 64 points of the 112 qualification points, teacher-set practical workshop tasks assessed in centre and moderated by WJEC, first available summer 2029
Skills that use Logical reasoning
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Working to tolerances and recording the results
Learners cut and shape materials within set tolerances, then check and record the results. The criteria tighten from plus or minus 2 mm at Entry 1 to plus or minus 0.8 mm at Level 1 for hand fitting, and from plus or minus 7 mm to 4 mm for sheet metal. Entry 3 learners compare measurements with tolerances and record them with units, and Level 1 learners present measurement records in tables or inspection sheets.
Numeracy: Calculation, Logical reasoning, Communicating with symbols
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils cut a strip to 100 mm and check whether it is within 2 mm, writing down the smallest and largest sizes that would pass.
- Year 8
- Pupils work out the upper and lower limits for sizes such as 50 mm plus or minus 1.5 mm and decide which of a set of measured parts pass.
- Year 9
- Pupils file a part to 40 mm plus or minus 0.8 mm, measure it with a vernier calliper and record the drawing size, limits, measured size in mm and a pass or fail on an inspection sheet.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 2, Sections 2.3.4, 2.4.2 and 2.4.3, page 32; Unit 2, assessment criteria, page 36; Unit 2, LO2.4 example tasks, page 42; Unit 2, portfolio evidence, page 44
“the learner compares measured dimensions to given tolerances”
Progression step 3
I can add and subtract numbers using whole numbers and decimals.
I can verify results and solutions.
I can use appropriate notation, symbols and units of measurement.
Progression step 4
I can use efficient written methods to add and subtract numbers and decimals of any size, including a mixture of large and small numbers with differing numbers of decimal places.
I can verify and prove results and solutions.
I can use appropriate notation, symbols and units of measurement, including compound measures.
Good to know
- There are no written tests. Both units are a "Portfolio of evidence" that is "Assessed in centre and moderated by WJEC" (Summary of assessment, page 5), so literacy and numeracy are shown through practical work, writing and talk.
- Spoken work counts: evidence types include "teacher/assessor questioning" with "responses to structured questions, either written or oral, to confirm understanding" (Section 3.3, page 47), and presentations are recorded on "observation records" (Section 3.6, page 48).
- Support varies by level: Entry 1 learners may need "use of symbols, or assistive technology" and Entry 2 learners may use "scaffolded templates" (Section 3.4, page 48).
- No marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar are mentioned; "judgements are made solely against the assessment criteria" (Section 3.6, page 48).
- The numeracy is measurement rather than calculation. Learners work "within general set tolerances" (Section 2.3.4, page 32), from plus or minus 2 mm to 0.8 mm for hand fitting (page 36), and the specification has no formulae, area, volume or calculator work, unlike VCSE Engineering.
- Appendix A (pages 55 and 56) maps listening, reading, speaking and writing to every Unit 1 section, speaking and writing to Unit 2 planning (2.2.1) and recording outcomes (2.4.3), and all four numeracy strands, including statistics, to 1.3.1, 1.3.2 and most of Unit 2.
Links with other qualifications
Foundation Engineering is the step below VCSE Engineering, which the specification names as a progression route. Both ask learners to read drawings, measure with vernier callipers and micrometers, work to tolerances, write a plan and risk assessment, record results and suggest improvements. VCSE Engineering steps these up with closer tolerances judged against full engineering drawings, unit conversions, area, volume and waste, spindle speed and Ohm's law calculations in a one hour written test, and reading a case study on an engineering project in Wales. The measuring and recording work also links with GCSE Mathematics and Numeracy and GCSE Design and Technology, and the talks and reports build on GCSE English Language and Literature skills.
Source: WJEC Entry Level/Level 1 Foundation Engineering specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027, for award from 2029 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).