How you’d get it

How you’d get this certificate

  1. Zavmo teaches you. You learn the units one-to-one with an AI tutor, on your own work.
  2. You register with an approved centre. That is a college, training provider or employer Cambridge OCR has approved to offer this qualification. Zavmo is not an approved centre, so you register with them, not with us.
  3. The centre assesses, and Cambridge OCR awards. A qualified assessor at the centre judges your evidence, and the certificate comes from Cambridge OCR.

More on studying for a qualification

01What it is

The Level 2 Cambridge Technical Diploma in IT is aimed at learners wishing to develop skills in the digital technology sector. It allows learners to gain skills at their own pace. Units cover communicating and working in the IT industry, business IT skills, and installing computer hardware and software.

These are the units Cambridge OCR 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. Zavmo teaches towards them on your own work.

Zavmo is not an awarding body, is not an approved centre, and is not affiliated with Cambridge OCR. It does the teaching and the mapping. Cambridge OCR sets this qualification and awards it, and a qualified human assessor makes the assessment decision.

02The units

What each unit actually teaches you to do

Animation techniques Real unit · Cambridge OCR
This unit provides knowledge of various animation techniques, including traditional and digital methods. You'll develop ideas, create animation sequences, and review their work to improve production quality.

What you'll be able to do

  • Describe a range of animation techniques
  • Explain the principles behind different animation techniques
  • Develop ideas for an animation sequence, considering target audience and purpose
  • Create an animation sequence using appropriate techniques
  • Review own animation production, identifying areas for improvement
Basic computing concepts Real unit · Cambridge OCR
This unit covers basic computing concepts including file transfer methods, number systems, hardware components, and platform choices. You'll understand how these concepts underpin IT systems.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand the concepts and methods of file transfer between different devices and systems
  • Understand the use of different number systems, such as binary, decimal, and hexadecimal, in computing contexts
  • Know how IT systems utilise various hardware components, including processors, memory, and storage devices
  • Understand the platform choices available for system solutions, considering factors such as operating systems and hardware compatibility
Business IT skills Real unit · Cambridge OCR
You'll develop business IT skills to identify and analyse problems, find relevant information, and use spreadsheet models to support solutions. The unit also covers presenting and evaluating business IT solutions effectively.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand the requirements for solving business problems using IT solutions
  • Find information to support the development of business solutions
  • Use spreadsheet models to support business solutions and decision-making
  • Present business solutions effectively to stakeholders
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of implemented business solutions
Communicating in the IT industry Real unit · Cambridge OCR
You'll learn to communicate effectively within the IT industry, adapting style and content for different audiences and purposes. The unit also covers the use of IT tools for information exchange and the broader impact of IT on individuals and society.

What you'll be able to do

  • Communicate information effectively, adapting style and content to suit the intended audience, purpose, and context
  • Utilise a range of IT tools and technologies to communicate and exchange information efficiently and securely
  • Understand the impact of IT on individuals, communities, and society, considering both the positive and negative implications
Computer graphics Real unit · Cambridge OCR
This unit equips learners with knowledge of hardware and software used in computer graphics. You'll create graphics to meet user needs and enhance documents with visual elements, considering audience and purpose.

What you'll be able to do

  • Know the hardware and software required to work with computer graphics, including graphics cards, monitors, and graphics editing software
  • Create computer graphics to meet a user need, considering the target audience and purpose of the graphic
  • Use computer graphics to enhance a document, improving its visual appeal and readability
Computer systems Real unit · Cambridge OCR
This unit provides knowledge of common computer system components and their functions. You'll understand different uses of computer systems and develop practical skills in connecting hardware and configuring software.

What you'll be able to do

  • Know the common components of computer systems, including hardware and software elements.
  • Know the different uses of computer systems in various contexts and applications.
  • Connect computer hardware components correctly and safely.
  • Configure computer software settings to meet specific requirements.
Customising software Real unit · Cambridge OCR
You'll understand why application software is customised and develop skills to customise software settings. They will create templates, macros, and shortcuts to improve efficiency and automate tasks.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand why application software is customised for different purposes and user needs
  • Customise application software to meet specific requirements
  • Create templates in application software to improve efficiency and consistency
  • Create macros and shortcuts in application software to automate tasks
Database systems Real unit · Cambridge OCR
This unit introduces the principles of database systems, including data storage, retrieval, and manipulation. You'll design and implement non-relational databases and use software tools to manage data effectively.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand the principles of database systems, including data storage, retrieval, and manipulation
  • Create non-relational database systems for specific applications
  • Use database software tools to manage and query data
Developing programming solutions Real unit · Cambridge OCR
You'll explore characteristics of different programming languages and develop programming code for software solutions. They will debug and test code to ensure functionality and reliability.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand the characteristics of appropriate programming languages for a proposed software solution
  • Produce programming code that meets the requirements of a specified software solution
  • Debug programming code to identify and correct errors in a software solution
  • Test a software solution to ensure it functions correctly and meets the specified requirements
Developing computer games Real unit · Cambridge OCR
This unit covers different types of computer games and their societal and individual impacts. You'll design, test, and document a computer game, considering gameplay mechanics and target audience.

What you'll be able to do

  • Identify the different types of computer game available
  • Describe the characteristics of different types of computer game
  • Explain the impact of computer games on society
  • Analyse the impact of computer games on individuals
  • Design a computer game, taking into account target audience and game mechanics
  • Test a computer game to identify and resolve any issues
  • Document the testing process and results for a computer game
Doing business online Real unit · Cambridge OCR
You'll study online business activities such as e-commerce, online marketing, and social media engagement. They will understand key considerations for setting up and operating an online business and the benefits of an online presence.

What you'll be able to do

  • Describe different online business activities, such as e-commerce, online marketing, and social media engagement
  • Identify what to consider when setting up an online business, including website design, payment processing, and customer service
  • Understand the operation of an online business, including order fulfilment, inventory management, and data analysis
  • Understand the benefits of an online business presence for reaching new customers and increasing sales
Fundamentals of computer applications Real unit · Cambridge OCR
This unit introduces features and uses of common computer applications. You'll design a computer application to meet specific needs and create technical documentation to support its use.

What you'll be able to do

  • Describe the features of different computer applications
  • Explain how computer applications are used in various contexts
  • Design a computer application to meet specific requirements
  • Create technical documentation for a computer application, including user guides and specifications
IT Support Real unit · Cambridge OCR
You'll identify common hardware and software issues experienced by IT users and record support requests accurately. The unit also covers providing effective IT support and analysing trends to improve IT services.

What you'll be able to do

  • Recognise the common issues that IT users may experience when using computer systems and software
  • Accurately record user support requests, ensuring all relevant information is captured
  • Provide effective IT support to users, addressing their issues in a timely and professional manner
  • Understand the importance of analysing trends in IT support requests to identify recurring problems and improve IT services
IT fault diagnosis and remedy Real unit · Cambridge OCR
This unit provides an understanding of IT diagnostic procedures, troubleshooting methodologies, and diagnostic tools. You'll be able to identify causes of common faults and apply appropriate remedies following established processes.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand the procedures used in the IT diagnostics process, including troubleshooting methodologies and diagnostic tools
  • Identify the cause of common IT faults, using diagnostic techniques and available resources
  • Apply suitable remedies to identified IT faults, following established procedures and best practices
IT security Real unit · Cambridge OCR
This unit covers potential threats to IT security, including malware, phishing, and social engineering. You'll understand protective measures such as firewalls and antivirus software and apply security practices to safeguard IT systems.

What you'll be able to do

  • Identify the potential threats to the security of IT systems, including malware, phishing, and social engineering
  • Understand how to protect IT systems from threats through measures such as firewalls, antivirus software, and access controls
  • Apply security measures to protect IT systems and data from unauthorised access and damage
Installing computer hardware Real unit · Cambridge OCR
This unit provides knowledge of reasons for installing computer hardware components and associated risks. You'll be able to install, test, and document hardware installations or upgrades following safety guidelines and manufacturer instructions.

What you'll be able to do

  • Know the reasons for installing hardware components and the implications of doing so
  • Understand the risks involved in installing hardware components and the precautions needed to mitigate them
  • Install and test hardware components according to manufacturer instructions and safety guidelines
  • Document a hardware installation or upgrade process, including configuration details and test results
Installing computer software Real unit · Cambridge OCR
You'll understand standard software installation processes, including preparation, configuration, testing, and documentation. The unit also covers compliance with software licensing agreements and various installation methods.

What you'll be able to do

  • Know the standard software installation processes and procedures
  • Prepare a computer system for software installation, including checking system requirements and creating backups
  • Install and configure software according to user requirements and best practices
  • Test and document a software installation, including verifying functionality and recording configuration settings
Interactive media production Real unit · Cambridge OCR
You'll explore the key design principles and technical considerations in interactive media production. They will develop creative ideas, create an interactive media product, and review their work to identify areas for improvement.

What you'll be able to do

  • Know about the key elements involved in interactive media production, including design principles and technical considerations.
  • Develop creative and feasible ideas for an interactive media product, considering target audience and purpose.
  • Create an interactive media product, applying relevant skills and techniques.
  • Review own interactive media production work, identifying areas for improvement and reflecting on the production process.
Mobile communications technology Real unit · Cambridge OCR
You'll gain knowledge of mobile communications devices, their features, and communication technologies like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. They will understand the implications of mobile technology and develop skills to set up mobile devices.

What you'll be able to do

  • Describe the uses and features of various mobile communications devices, such as smartphones and tablets
  • Identify the communication technologies used in mobile devices, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular networks
  • Understand the implications of mobile communications technology for individuals and organisations, including security and privacy concerns
  • Set up mobile communications devices for different purposes, such as email, internet access, and file sharing
Multimedia design Real unit · Cambridge OCR
You'll understand different types of digital media and their characteristics. The unit covers designing, developing, presenting, and reviewing multimedia products, integrating various media types effectively.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand different types of digital media, including audio, video, images, and animation, and their characteristics
  • Design multimedia products, considering the target audience, purpose, and technical requirements
  • Develop multimedia products using appropriate software and techniques, integrating different media types effectively
  • Present and review multimedia products, gathering feedback and making necessary revisions
Presenting information using IT Real unit · Cambridge OCR
This unit covers the purpose of different document types and the appropriate software used to present and communicate information. You'll learn to produce documents tailored for various audiences and review them for accuracy and clarity.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand the purpose of different document types used in presenting information.
  • Know appropriate software applications to present and communicate information effectively.
  • Produce appropriate documents tailored for different audiences, considering their needs and understanding.
  • Review documents to ensure accuracy, clarity, and suitability for their intended purpose.
Project planning using IT Real unit · Cambridge OCR
This unit equips learners with skills to prepare for and plan projects using IT. You'll produce and follow a project plan, manage resources and tasks, and review the project to ensure it meets its objectives.

What you'll be able to do

  • Prepare effectively for a project, including defining scope and objectives.
  • Produce a comprehensive project plan, outlining tasks, timelines, and resources.
  • Follow a project plan to implement a project, managing tasks and resources effectively.
  • Review a project upon completion to ensure it meets its goals and objectives, and to identify lessons learned.
Setting up an IT network Real unit · Cambridge OCR
This unit covers the uses of computer networks and features of local and wide area network technologies. You'll understand how hardware and software components connect and configure networks and will be able to set up a simple local area network.

What you'll be able to do

  • Know the current uses of computer networks in various contexts
  • Know the features and services of local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN) technologies
  • Understand how network hardware and software components are connected and configured
  • Set up a simple local area network, including configuring network devices and testing connectivity
Spreadsheet modelling Real unit · Cambridge OCR
You'll understand the purpose and features of spreadsheets and develop spreadsheet models to solve problems. They will test and document these models to ensure accuracy and functionality.

What you'll be able to do

  • Describe what spreadsheets are and their purpose
  • Explain how spreadsheets can be used in different contexts
  • Develop spreadsheet models to solve specific problems
  • Test spreadsheet models to ensure accuracy and functionality
  • Document the development and testing process for spreadsheet models
Supporting organisations with IT Real unit · Cambridge OCR
You'll study how organisations utilise IT for communication, data management, and customer relationship management. They will understand the reasons for adopting IT solutions and plan a working environment incorporating IT.

What you'll be able to do

  • Know the various ways in which organisations utilise IT to support their operations.
  • Understand the reasons why organisations adopt and rely on IT solutions.
  • Understand the impact of IT on individuals within organisations and on the organisations themselves.
  • Plan a working environment that effectively incorporates IT resources and infrastructure.
Systems software and hardware for development Real unit · Cambridge OCR
You'll identify system software and hardware essential for software development. They will understand the functions, constraints, and solutions related to these components within the development process.

What you'll be able to do

  • Identify the system software required for software development
  • Describe the functions of different system software components
  • Identify the hardware required for software development
  • Describe the specifications of different hardware components
  • Explain the systems software and hardware constraints of software development
  • Describe solutions to systems software constraints
  • Describe solutions to hardware constraints
Understanding Big Data Real unit · Cambridge OCR
You'll understand the characteristics and challenges of Big Data. They will explore its applications across industries and the processes involved in managing and analysing large data sets.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand what is meant by Big Data, including its characteristics, volume, velocity, and variety
  • Understand how Big Data is used in different industries and applications to gain insights and make informed decisions
  • Understand how Big Data is processed using various techniques and technologies, such as data mining and machine learning
Understanding cloud computing Real unit · Cambridge OCR
This unit introduces cloud computing concepts, service and deployment models, and their business implications. You'll examine benefits, challenges, and technical considerations for successful cloud adoption.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand what is meant by cloud computing, including its different service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) and deployment models (public, private, hybrid)
  • Know how cloud computing relates to business, including its benefits, challenges, and impact on business operations
  • Understand the technical perspectives for different cloud types, including infrastructure, security, and scalability considerations
  • Understand how to identify a successful adoption of cloud computing, including key performance indicators and metrics
Website development Real unit · Cambridge OCR
You'll study web architecture and its components, understanding how websites support organisational objectives. The unit includes designing and creating website components with consideration for user experience and accessibility.

What you'll be able to do

  • Know web architecture and components, including servers, databases, and client-side technologies
  • Understand how websites can be used by organisations to achieve their business objectives, including marketing, communication, and e-commerce
  • Design website components, such as navigation menus, forms, and content layouts, considering user experience and accessibility
  • Create website components using appropriate technologies, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Working in the IT industry Real unit · Cambridge OCR
This unit introduces learners to the IT industry, focusing on employer-valued characteristics such as professionalism and ethical behaviour. You'll identify common job roles, their responsibilities, and the importance of continuous professional development.

What you'll be able to do

  • Recognise the characteristics that are valued by employers in the IT industry
  • Identify the common job roles undertaken by people working in the IT industry
By email

Free, by email

Is this the right qualification for you?

One email to help you decide: the facts, what it teaches, the jobs it leads to and where to start free. With a link back here. Nothing else follows unless you confirm your address.

Your employer, or 'self-employed'

Study the units online with a personal AI tutor, for £70 a month. Your first Future Fluency module is free.

03Where it leads

The jobs these credits are mapped to

A qualification is never a dead end here. Each of these is a job record this qualification is a mapped route into.

Where this can lead

Associate Desktop Support Specialist

This work can lead to senior desktop support, then a lead engineer role, and on to managing an endpoint systems team.

See the whole journey
Still deciding?

One email to help you decide: the facts, what it teaches, the jobs it leads to and where to start free. With a link back here. Nothing else follows unless you confirm your address.

04The credits

The credits, and who awards them

Level 2 credits are regulated, and they are awarded by Cambridge OCR rather than by Zavmo. 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 have covered and what is next.

What you would be collecting

Animation techniquesBasic computing conceptsBusiness IT skillsCommunicating in the IT industryComputer graphicsComputer systemsCustomising softwareDatabase systems

Each one is a real unit registered against this qualification.

How you’d practise it

You don’t watch this. You do it.

You are not assessed on remembering this. You are assessed on applying it, analysing it, evaluating it and producing something. So that is what the practice is: projects, role play and your own live cases, with a tutor in the room.

The Navigator The Navigator · your what-if tutor Illustration
The Navigator Your plan for “Project planning using IT” assumes the same two people are free in March. What have you seen that makes you slightly uneasy about that?
You One of them has been pulled onto the migration twice already. Probably fine.
The Navigator That is the thread worth pulling. Let us build the version where it happens a third time and find the move that works either way.
The same lesson on the real thing: the conversation in the middle, the thinking ladder on the left, and the criteria each answer is evidencing on the right.
  • Bring your own plan Create

    For “Project planning using IT” you bring the plan you are actually working on, not a case study. Zavmo pulls on the assumptions in it until the weak one shows.

  • Map a live decision Analyse

    “Computer systems” runs on a decision you are facing now. Zavmo maps it with you and shows what the second-order effect looks like before you find out the slow way.

How you would learn this

One to one, on the work you already do

A tutor sets the task against your own job and marks the reasoning, at your pace. There is no cohort to fall behind.

A lesson from Animation techniques, one of this qualification's own units.

Animation techniques Level 2

Applied to your work in any of these jobs

This unit provides knowledge of various animation techniques, including traditional and digital methods. Learners will develop ideas, create animation sequences, and review their work to improve production quality.

How the thinking builds
  1. 1 Remember
  2. 2 Understand
  3. 3 Apply
  4. 4 Analyse
  5. 5 Evaluate
  6. 6 Create
An illustration of a Zavmo lesson, built from this role’s own route. The unit, its objective and every criterion above are the awarding body’s own words, not an example.

It is £70 a month, billed monthly. Your free first module is Future Fluency, and you can cancel any time. Teaching towards this qualification begins when you subscribe.

Your Plan Illustration

Built for Cambridge OCR Level 2 Cambridge Technical Diploma in IT

30 units in this credential, in the order it lists them, awarded by Cambridge OCR.

  1. Animation techniques
  2. Basic computing concepts
  3. Business IT skills
  4. Communicating in the IT industry
  5. Computer graphics
  6. Computer systems

and 24 more in the full unit list below.

These are the real units of this credential, in its own order. Nothing here is marked done, because this plan has not been started by anyone yet. Yours would fill in as you go.

Free tools

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Three free tools, no account needed. Each one ends with a role, a level and a way in.

Learned on your own work, taught one-to-one.

Everything you just read, learned one-to-one on the job you already do. Your free first module is Future Fluency, so you can see how the teaching works before you pay for anything.

Start my free AI Fluency module

No card. See how this qualification maps onto your role and meet the tutors who’d teach it, free. The learning begins when you subscribe. It’s £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.

The title, level, credits, guided learning hours and unit learning outcomes on this page are taken from the Ofqual Register of Regulated Qualifications. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Where this data comes from.