Diploma of Automotive Management

The Diploma of Automotive Management is a vocational qualification for people who want to run the business side of a workshop, dealership or automotive service operation. You study how a automotive business actually makes money: managing staff rosters and workplace relations, costing repair jobs and quoting customers, ordering parts and controlling stock, keeping service records, and meeting workplace health and safety and environmental rules. Units are delivered over 46 weeks, and assessment is competency based, meaning you are judged on whether you can do the task to industry standard rather than on exam marks alone.

This is an AQF diploma, which sits between a certificate IV and an associate degree. It is not a three-year bachelor degree and it does not carry the same credit points. Providers usually structure diplomas across two or three study periods within the 46 weeks, with each unit worth a set number of credit points. Delivery may include classroom teaching, workshop sessions and a supervised work placement in a real automotive business, depending on the provider's arrangements. You should confirm the unit list, credit points and placement hours on the official CRICOS register entry and the provider's course page.

Skills you build include job costing, customer service and complaint handling, team supervision, inventory and supplier management, and basic business reporting. You also learn to read and apply manufacturer and industry standards, and to keep the paperwork that a registered automotive business needs. Teaching is in English, and international applicants need to meet the provider's English entry requirement, commonly IELTS Academic 6.0 to 6.5 overall or an accepted equivalent such as TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic or Cambridge C1 Advanced. The Department of Home Affairs sets a separate English threshold for the Student visa itself.

This diploma suits people already working in the automotive trade who want to move into a supervisor or service manager role, and people with some business or retail experience who want to specialise in the automotive sector. It also works as a pathway into further study, with credit possibly granted towards a bachelor degree in business or management at the provider's discretion. If you are an international student, a Student visa generally lets you work up to 48 hours per fortnight while your course is in session, and graduates may be able to apply for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream if they meet the requirements. Check the official page for current details.

• Automotive service manager or workshop supervisor
• Service advisor or customer service manager in a dealership or repair centre
• Parts and inventory manager
• Small business owner or operator of an automotive repair business
• Fleet maintenance coordinator
• Automotive sales or after-sales manager
• Roles in automotive retail groups, dealerships, independent workshops, fleet operators and parts distributors across Australia