Diploma of Leadership and Management

The Diploma of Leadership and Management is a practical, work-focused qualification for people who want to step into team leader or supervisor roles, or who are already in charge of a small team and want to get better at it. It's delivered over 46 weeks at Melbourne College of Hair and Beauty and Melbourne College of Training & Assessment. You'll cover the things that actually trip new managers up: planning and managing a team's workload, giving feedback, resolving conflict, managing budgets and operational plans, and keeping the paperwork straight for compliance. There is a strong emphasis on communication and on making decisions with incomplete information, which is most of the job.

How the qualification is structured

This is a diploma under the Australian Qualifications Framework. Diplomas sit below a bachelor degree and above a certificate IV, and they're built from units of competency rather than the semester-long subjects you'd see in a degree. Each unit has a national code and a set of performance criteria you need to demonstrate. Assessment is competency-based: you either meet the standard or you don't, and you may be able to have prior work experience recognised through recognition of prior learning. You'll typically study a mix of core leadership units and electives chosen by the college, with credit points awarded per unit. Confirm the exact unit list, delivery mode and assessment schedule on the official CRICOS register entry for course 108583H, and with the college directly.

Skills you'll build

Expect to practise writing operational plans, running a team meeting, managing a project from brief to review, handling a performance issue, and reading a budget. The course also covers workplace health and safety obligations, risk management, and the basics of leading diversity and inclusion in a team. Because the colleges cater to the hair and beauty and training sectors, some assessment tasks may be set in those contexts, which is useful if you plan to manage a salon, a clinic or a registered training organisation.

Who it suits

This diploma suits school leavers who want a fast route into supervisory work rather than a three-year degree, people already working in retail, hospitality, beauty or community services who want formal recognition of what they do, and international students looking for a shorter qualification with a clear pathway into a bachelor degree. If you're an international student, note that a Student visa allows you to work up to 48 hours per fortnight while your course is in session. After you finish, the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream may be available depending on your visa subclass, your qualification and where you studied, check the Department of Home Affairs rules for your situation. English entry is typically IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall or an accepted equivalent such as TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic or Cambridge C1 Advanced; the Department of Home Affairs also sets its own English threshold for the visa, which is separate from the college's requirement. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register.

• Team leader or supervisor, retail, hospitality, beauty and personal services, call centres, logistics.
• Assistant manager or duty manager, salons, clinics, food and beverage venues, gyms.
• Office or administration manager, small businesses, professional services firms, community organisations.
• Training coordinator, registered training organisations and in-house learning teams.
• Project support officer, construction, events, government and not-for-profit projects.
• Small business owner or operator, running your own salon, clinic or consultancy.

Australian employers in these sectors hire on demonstrated competence as much as on the certificate, so the placement and assessment work you complete during the diploma is often what gets you the interview.