| Certificate of Higher Education, HNC, first year of a degree | Leading practice rather than performing it. | Senior practitioners, lead operatives |
| Foundation degree, HND, Diploma of Higher Education | Owning a department, a service or a site’s output. | Middle managers, registered managers |
| Bachelor’s degree with honours, graduate diploma, degree apprenticeship | Full accountability for a project, function or site — commercially and legally. | Site and project managers, safety advisors |
| Master’s degree, postgraduate diploma | Strategy above project level: procurement, governance, organisational direction. | Directors, senior and strategic managers |
| Doctorate | Original contribution at the front edge of a discipline. | Research and professorial practice |