Syllabus: AQA - GCSE Economics
Module: 3.1.2 Resource Allocation
Lesson: 3.1.2.2 Economic Sectors

Introduction

This article explores the AQA GCSE Economics topic 3.1.2.2 Economic Sectors, part of the wider theme on Resource Allocation. It supports curriculum delivery for teachers while providing contextual depth for SLT and careers leads. This unit is foundational to building students’ understanding of how economic activity is organised and evolves across primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors.

Aligned to the AQA 8136 GCSE Economics specification, the topic links directly to commercial awareness and workplace readiness — two priorities that support both Gatsby Benchmark 4 (linking curriculum to careers) and wider post-16 outcomes.

Key Concepts

As defined in AQA’s specification, students must be able to:

• Understand the three economic sectors:

  • Primary: Extraction of natural resources (e.g. agriculture, fishing, mining)

  • Secondary: Manufacturing and construction (e.g. car production, house building)

  • Tertiary: Services (e.g. retail, healthcare, education)

• Identify and explain the differences between goods and services

• Evaluate the changing relative importance of each sector in the UK economy over time

• Understand that economic structure shifts over time due to factors such as technological advancement, globalisation, and consumer demand

These concepts provide a lens through which students can analyse real-world economic activity, both historically and in contemporary contexts.

Real-World Relevance

The UK’s economic structure has undergone significant change. In the early 20th century, the primary sector employed over 30% of the workforce. Today, it’s under 2%. The secondary sector peaked during the industrial revolution but declined in the 1980s due to global competition and automation. Currently, tertiary services dominate, employing around 80% of the workforce.

Example:

• Amazon UK is a prime case of tertiary dominance. While it relies on secondary (warehouse logistics tech) and primary (raw goods), its core value lies in retail, delivery, and customer service.

• The UK’s wind energy sector also blends sectors: turbines (secondary), land/water use (primary), and maintenance (tertiary). Teaching this encourages students to appreciate sector overlap and complexity.

How It’s Assessed

AQA examines this topic through both multiple-choice and extended-answer questions, often within wider themes such as resource allocation or economic change. Key assessment methods include:

• Short-answer knowledge recall (e.g. Define ‘tertiary sector’)

• Data-response interpretation (e.g. analysing employment charts by sector)

• Application of sector shifts to policy, employment or business decisions

• Extended response evaluation (e.g. Discuss how a fall in secondary sector employment affects economic growth)

Common command words include ‘explain’, ‘analyse’, ‘discuss’, and ‘evaluate’ — all aligned to AQA’s AO2 and AO3 objectives. Students are expected to use accurate definitions, apply real examples, and develop structured arguments.

Enterprise Skills Integration

This topic is ideal for embedding commercial awareness and decision-making skills, two of Enterprise Skills’ strategic themes.

• Decision-Making & Problem-Solving: Students can explore how governments or businesses decide where to invest — e.g. Should a region attract a tech firm (tertiary) or invest in food processing (secondary)?

• Commercial Awareness: Understanding sector growth helps students grasp how job markets shift and where opportunities lie. For instance, the rise of renewable energy spans all three sectors — prompting nuanced decisions for investors or policymakers.

• Workplace Readiness: By linking to real job functions across sectors, students develop organisational insight — essential for every career pathway.

These dimensions can be strengthened through Skills Hub Futures tools like:

• Sector-specific career pathway maps

• Real employer challenges tied to sector decision-making

• Simulated workplace dilemmas grounded in sector dynamics

Careers Links

This unit offers rich alignment to Gatsby Benchmarks 4, 5, and 6:

• Benchmark 4 (Curriculum to Careers): The topic helps students relate economic theory to real-world career sectors. For example, a lesson on the tertiary sector can include roles in finance, education, or logistics.

• Benchmark 5 (Employer Encounters): Use employer videos or invite guest speakers from contrasting sectors (e.g. a local farmer, engineer, and retail manager) to show sector diversity.

• Benchmark 6 (Workplace Experiences): Students can analyse case studies or complete virtual workplace scenarios from Skills Hub Futures, allowing them to “step into” roles across sectors.

Relevant careers include:

• Primary: Agricultural technician, environmental consultant

• Secondary: Engineer, production planner

• Tertiary: Retail analyst, marketing executive, transport coordinator

Teaching Notes

Pedagogical Tips:

• Use local labour market data to personalise the topic — what’s dominant in your region?

• Encourage students to categorise jobs within sectors to build understanding of overlaps and changes over time.

• Use Venn diagrams to show that some businesses span multiple sectors (e.g. Tesco: buying goods, processing, and retail).

Active Learning Ideas:

• Sector simulation: Assign groups a sector and a challenge (e.g. reduce costs or grow employment) to develop proposals.

• Debates: Should governments subsidise declining secondary industries?

Common Pitfalls:

• Students often confuse “secondary” with “unimportant” — reinforce it refers to manufacturing.

• Tertiary isn’t “technology” — it’s service-based, though it can use technology.

Extension Activities:

• Explore the quaternary sector and its growing role in digital economies.

• Investigate how AI and automation are shifting sector employment patterns.