BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT · Level 5
BCS Level 5 Diploma in IT
You don’t just earn this. You learn to use it, one-to-one, on your own real work.
- LevelLevel 5
- Guided learning1,042 hours
- Units in this qualification15
Awarded by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT · on the Ofqual register
What you’ll learn
What each unit actually teaches you to do
Aimed at IT professionals, the BCS Level 5 Diploma in IT builds upon existing knowledge and skills within the digital technology sector. The qualification includes units covering IT service management, object-oriented programming, user experience, and database systems, alongside a professional IT project. Learners will enhance their ability to manage IT projects and services.
These are the units BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT registers against this qualification. It is a catalogue, not a syllabus. Which of them you take depends on the combination the qualification requires, and that is set by the awarding body rather than by us. Every unit here is regulated, and every one you earn is yours to keep.
Big Data ManagementReal unit · BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
What you'll be able to do
- Comply with applicable government regulations related to Big Data and maintain the security of Big Data
- Organise and manage Big Data professionals and teams effectively
- Manage appropriate architectures and storage solutions for Big Data applications
- Analyse data held within typical Big Data systems
Computer NetworksReal unit · BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
What you'll be able to do
- Understand fundamental computer network concepts, including network topologies, protocols, and architectures
- Know common network protocols and standards, such as TCP/IP, HTTP, and Ethernet
- Configure network devices, such as routers, switches, and firewalls, to meet specified network requirements
- Understand network security concepts, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and VPNs
- Troubleshoot common network issues, such as connectivity problems, performance bottlenecks, and security vulnerabilities
Database SystemsReal unit · BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
What you'll be able to do
- Understand core database system concepts, including data models, database management systems (DBMS), and database architecture
- Design database schemas that meet specified requirements, considering data integrity, normalisation, and performance
- Implement database systems using a suitable DBMS, including creating tables, defining relationships, and implementing constraints
- Understand database security principles and techniques, including access control, authentication, and encryption
- Query databases using SQL to retrieve, manipulate, and analyse data
IT Project ManagementReal unit · BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
What you'll be able to do
- Understand different IT project management methodologies
- Know various project planning techniques
- Manage project resources effectively
- Evaluate potential project risks and issues
- Understand effective project communication strategies
IT Service ManagementReal unit · BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
What you'll be able to do
- Understand IT service management principles, such as customer focus, service value, and continuous improvement
- Understand ITIL frameworks, such as service strategy, service design, service transition, service operation, and continual service improvement
- Manage IT service delivery, including defining service level agreements, managing service capacity, and ensuring service availability
- Manage IT service support, including providing help desk support, resolving incidents, and managing problems
- Know about incident and problem management, including incident logging, incident prioritisation, problem analysis, and problem resolution
Object Oriented ProgrammingReal unit · BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the fundamental principles of object-oriented programming, including encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism
- Design object-oriented solutions to software problems, using appropriate design principles and techniques
- Implement object-oriented programs using a suitable programming language, adhering to coding standards and best practices
- Understand common object-oriented design patterns and their application in software development
Principles of Internet TechnologiesReal unit · BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
What you'll be able to do
- Understand internet technologies and protocols.
- Know web server architecture.
- Develop web applications.
- Understand internet security threats.
- Deploy internet services.
Principles of User Interface DesignReal unit · BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
What you'll be able to do
- Understand user interface design principles.
- Know usability evaluation methods.
- Design effective user interfaces.
- Evaluate user interface designs.
- Understand accessibility considerations in UI design.
Professional Issues in IS PracticeReal unit · BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
What you'll be able to do
- Understand ethical and professional conduct in IS.
- Know legal frameworks relevant to IS practice.
- Analyse risks associated with IS projects.
- Evaluate the impact of IS on society.
- Apply professional codes of conduct.
Professional Project in ITReal unit · BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
What you'll be able to do
- Plan an IT project, including defining project scope, objectives, and deliverables
- Manage an IT project, including creating project schedules, allocating resources, and managing risks
- Implement an IT project, including developing software, installing hardware, and training users
- Evaluate project outcomes, including measuring project success, identifying lessons learned, and documenting project results
- Understand project management methodologies, such as PRINCE2, Agile, and Waterfall, and their application to IT projects
Smart SystemsReal unit · BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
What you'll be able to do
- Develop an understanding of Smart Systems, their implementation and applications.
- Interpret and explain the impact of Smart Systems, including ethical, legal, social, and environmental implications.
- Explain concepts used in Smart Systems and associated architectures.
- Explain the major Smart Systems application areas and techniques used within them.
- Discuss examples of Smart Systems used in real life situations.
Software EngineeringReal unit · BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
What you'll be able to do
- Understand fundamental software engineering principles, including requirements engineering, software design, and software testing
- Apply appropriate software development methodologies, such as Agile or Waterfall, to manage the software development lifecycle
- Manage software projects effectively, including planning, scheduling, and resource allocation
- Understand various software testing techniques, including unit testing, integration testing, and system testing
- Document software systems comprehensively, including requirements specifications, design documents, and user manuals
Systems Analysis and DesignReal unit · BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
What you'll be able to do
- Understand various systems analysis techniques
- Know different systems design methodologies
- Model system requirements accurately
- Evaluate different system design options
- Understand the stages of the system development lifecycle
User ExperienceReal unit · BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
What you'll be able to do
- Explain the key principles of User Experience (UX) design, including usability, accessibility, and user-centred design
- Select appropriate user interface styles for a range of scenarios, considering user needs and context
- Analyse users, situations, and tasks to specify user experiences that meet user requirements and business goals
- Apply knowledge of UX principles and methods to evaluate the effectiveness and usability of user interfaces
Web Application DevelopmentReal unit · BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
What you'll be able to do
- Evaluate the contribution of underpinning web technologies to the process of web application development.
- Apply the procedures and processes necessary for the construction of high-quality web applications.
- Compare and contrast a variety of front end and back end web application frameworks.
- Apply a range of testing strategies and techniques to quality assure and continuously monitor web applications.
- Appreciate the importance of legal, social, ethical and professional issues associated with web applications.
The honest bit
You’ve started things before
Most courses were built for a room full of people who aren’t you. A cohort moves on whether or not your week allowed it, and by the third week the thing you’re behind on becomes the reason you stop opening it.
There’s no cohort here, and no timetable to fall behind. Before anything starts, Zavmo asks when you’re sharpest and how long you can realistically sit down for, then builds the sessions around those answers. A bad fortnight changes your pace. It doesn’t put you behind.
And you only pay once you start learning. Searching and planning are free, and you can cancel any time — so the cost of finding out is an afternoon, not a year.
Your passport
Every credit is a stamp you keep
Level 5 credits are regulated. They don’t vanish when a subscription ends or a website closes. They travel to any employer, and Zavmo keeps the map of what you’ve earned and what’s next.
Each stamp is a real unit registered against this qualification.
Who’d teach you this
The Evidence Evaluator
Assessor
Helps you show what you can actually do, gathering the evidence that proves it as you learn.
Meet all twelve tutorsWhere this connects
Where these credits take you
A qualification is never a dead end here. See the jobs its credits open, the national occupational standards its units map to, and the future skills they quietly build.
- Authorise strategy, policies and standards relating to IT service delivery performance metrics management
- Carry out systems analysis
- Conduct user experience design assignments
- Evaluate User Experience Research Findings
- Implement procedures and standards relating to metrics for IT service delivery
- Lead User Centred Design Activities
- Perform digital service transition
- Set and implement the IT service desk strategy
Where this can lead
Global IT Service Delivery Manager
Your career here isn't a fixed ladder; it's more like a climbing wall with many different routes to the top. We're here to help you find the path that excites you most and provides the biggest opportunities for growth. The sky's the limit if you're willing to learn, adapt, and make a real impact.
See the whole journey →Showing 6 roles, drawn from 95 job records mapped to this qualification.
Skills it covers
What the job actually needs. These are the standards the units are built against, in the words employers and awarding bodies already use for the work itself.
How you’ll actually learn this
One-to-one, on your own real work
A qualification is usually something done to you: sit the class, sit the exam, hope it sticks. Here it’s the opposite. You learn it one-to-one with a companion, on your own real work, and you keep going until you can use it, not just recall it.
Applied to your work in any of these jobs
Learners will develop skills to manage Big Data systems, ensuring compliance with regulations and maintaining data security. The unit covers team organisation, architecture management, and storage solutions for Big Data environments.
- Remember
- Understand
- Apply
- Analyse
- Evaluate
- Create
Built for BCS Level 5 Diploma in IT
15 units in this credential, in the order it lists them, awarded by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.
- Big Data Management
- Computer Networks
- Database Systems
- IT Project Management
- IT Service Management
- Object Oriented Programming
and 9 more in the full unit list below.
One to one, not one to many
No two people run this the same way
A course is written once and handed to everyone. This is assembled around you, and keeps changing as it learns you. Five things it reads, and what each one changes.
- Your actual work Every unit is taught against a live piece of your own work, not a worked example from a textbook.
- What you already know The first conversation finds your starting point, so you skip what you can already do and spend the time on what you cannot.
- The conditions you learn under Not a learning-styles quiz. The evidence does not support those. The dimensions the research does back, read once and used to shape the plan.
- How far you got last time It picks up mid-thought. The tutor knows what you said, what you struggled with, and what it asked you to try.
- Which tutor suits the moment Twelve of them, each for a different kind of thinking. The one who walks you through a first idea is not the one who stress-tests it.
See how you learn, free. Eight questions, no sign-up. A directional taster; the diagnostic inside Zavmo goes deeper and keeps adapting.
Why it sticks
Most courses stop at remembering
There’s a well-known ladder of how deeply you learn something, called Bloom’s Taxonomy. Most courses get you up the first two rungs: you remember some facts, you pass a test, you forget it. Real skill lives at the top. Judging, deciding, creating. And this isn’t a generic ladder: every rung has a named Zavmo tutor who walks you up it.
- 6CreateThe Creative Catalyst
- 5EvaluateThe Evidence Evaluator
- 4AnalyseThe Analyst
- 3ApplyThe Coach
- 2UnderstandThe Connector
- 1RememberThe Builder
Where most courses leave you Where Zavmo takes you
The value
Why the companion is worth £70 a month
You’re not paying for the units. They’re regulated, and the same wherever you earn them. You’re paying for the one thing that decides whether you actually get there: a companion that makes them stick, on your real work.
That is one-to-one on this qualification, every day, on the work you already do, for £70 a month. Your first module is free, so you can see the teaching before you pay for any of it. Billed monthly, cancel any time and billing stops.
This qualification is no longer awarded.
Registrations for it closed some time ago, so it cannot be started today. It appears here because it is on the Ofqual register and may be one you already hold. If you are looking for a current route, browse the qualifications that are still open.
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