Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning)

This Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) is a qualification for people who want to lead learning and development inside organisations. It sits at graduate diploma level on the Australian Qualifications Framework, so it assumes you already have some study or work experience behind you. The focus is on the management side of learning: how to work out what training an organisation actually needs, how to design and deliver it, and how to measure whether it made any difference.

What you study

You will work through units of study that cover adult learning principles, instructional design, assessment and evaluation, and the management of a learning function. Expect to look at how people learn at different stages of their careers, how to build training that fits a workplace rather than a classroom, and how to manage the budgets, staff and compliance that sit behind a training department. Because this is a graduate diploma, the assessment leans towards applied work: analysing a real organisation's learning needs, proposing a solution, and defending your choices.

How the qualification is structured

Australian graduate diplomas are usually one to one-and-a-half years of full-time study, made up of units of study that each carry a set number of credit points. You need to pass the required number of credit points to graduate. Some institutions run semesters, others trimesters, and some deliver in intensive blocks. Delivery can be face-to-face, online or mixed, so check the official page for how this particular course runs. Where a course includes a capstone project, it is normally a substantial piece of work in the final stage that pulls together everything you have learned, often based on a real workplace problem. Placements or work-integrated learning are common in fields where you need supervised practice; for a management and learning qualification, that might mean a project with an employer rather than a formal placement. Confirm the exact structure, unit list and any capstone requirement with the provider.

Who it suits

This course suits trainers, team leaders, HR staff and managers who have moved into learning and development and now need the formal management credential to go with the job. It also suits people from other backgrounds who want to move into corporate training, vocational education or workforce development. If you are an international student, you will need to meet the English requirement published by the provider and the separate English threshold set by the Department of Home Affairs for the Student visa. While you study, the Student visa usually allows work of up to 48 hours per fortnight. After you finish, the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream may be available if you meet the requirements. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register, and you should confirm fees, intake dates and entry requirements on the official page before applying.

• Learning and development manager
• Training coordinator or training manager
• Instructional designer
• Organisational development officer
• HR manager with a learning portfolio
• Vocational education and training (VET) manager or team leader
• Workforce capability consultant
• Corporate trainer

These roles sit in government departments, large private employers, registered training organisations, not-for-profit groups and consulting firms across Australia. Many graduates work in industries that run their own internal training, such as health, construction, retail, finance and public administration.