Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning)

The Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) at Platinum College of Technology and Business is a one-and-a-half-year course for people who want to lead learning and development inside organisations. It sits at graduate diploma level on the Australian Qualifications Framework, which means it comes in above a bachelor degree but below a master's. You do not need a prior degree in education to get in, but you do need to be ready for study at a postgraduate level.

What you actually study

The subject area is curriculum and instruction, so the core work is about how people learn and how you design, deliver and assess training that changes what employees can do. Expect units on instructional design, assessment and evaluation, adult learning principles, managing learning programmes, and the business side of learning, budgets, compliance, stakeholder reporting. You will look at how to build a curriculum from scratch, how to measure whether it worked, and how to argue for resources when the finance team asks what the return is.

The course is structured as a series of units of study, each carrying credit points. Most Australian graduate diplomas are delivered over two or three study periods, semesters or trimesters depending on the institution, and this one runs for 1.5 years, so you can expect a mix of coursework, group projects and a final capstone or applied project where you pull the skills together on a real learning problem. Confirm the exact unit list, credit point values and study period structure on the official course page before you apply.

How it is taught and what you gain

Teaching is practical. You will write learning outcomes, build assessment tools, facilitate sessions and evaluate results. Group work is common because learning and development is a team sport in most Australian organisations, you rarely design a programme alone. By the end you should be able to run a training needs analysis, design a programme that meets the Australian Quality Training Framework or your employer's internal standards, and report on outcomes in language a general manager understands.

Work-integrated learning or a placement may form part of the course. Where it does, it puts you inside an Australian workplace, a corporate L&D team, a registered training organisation, a government department or a not-for-profit, doing the work you are studying. Ask the college how placement is arranged and whether it is guaranteed or competitive.

Who it suits

This course suits three groups. First, trainers and assessors who already hold a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or equivalent and want to move into management. Second, HR generalists who have drifted into learning and development and need formal grounding. Third, people from industry, nursing, trades, IT, hospitality, who are now responsible for training others and want a qualification that matches the job. If you are an international student, note that you can 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 circumstances. English entry is typically IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic and Cambridge C1 Advanced accepted as equivalents. The Student visa has its own separate English requirement set by the Department of Home Affairs. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register under course code 118885M. Check the official page for current unit details, entry requirements and intakes.

• Learning and development manager, corporate, government and not-for-profit organisations across Australia.
• Training coordinator or training manager, registered training organisations, TAFE and private providers.
• Instructional designer, e-learning teams, consultancies and large employers building internal academies.
• Organisational development consultant, HR consultancies and professional services firms.
• Capability or workforce development officer, health, aged care, mining, construction and public sector agencies.
• Training needs analyst, any organisation that has to prove its training spend is working.
• Education or programme manager, community organisations, industry bodies and membership associations.