Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning)

This Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) is for people who want to lead the learning and development side of an organisation. It sits at graduate diploma level on the Australian Qualifications Framework, so you are expected to already hold a bachelor degree or have substantial industry experience. The course runs for two years and is delivered by the West Australian Institute of Further Studies. The CRICOS code is 107772M, which means it is registered for international students. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register, so check there for the current figure.

What you actually study

The subject area is curriculum and instruction, and the focus is on the management side of learning. You look at how organisations work out what training their people need, how to design programmes that meet those needs, how to deliver them, and how to measure whether they made a difference. Typical units cover instructional design, assessment and evaluation, adult learning principles, managing learning projects, and the business case for training. You also study how to lead a team of trainers or educators, and how to work with budgets, stakeholders and compliance requirements. Because it is a graduate diploma, the assessment is more applied than an undergraduate degree. You write reports, design learning programmes, and analyse case studies rather than sit lots of exams.

How the Australian qualification is structured

Australian graduate diplomas usually take one to two years of full-time study and are made up of units of study, each with a credit point value. You need to pass a set number of credit points to graduate. This one is two years, so it has more units than a one-year graduate diploma. Study is normally organised into semesters or trimesters, and you can often choose between full-time and part-time study. Some graduate diplomas include a capstone unit where you pull everything together in a major project. If your course has one, it might involve designing a full learning programme for a real organisation or writing a substantial report on a workplace learning issue. Work-integrated learning or a placement is common in this field because employers want to see that you can apply the theory. Check the official course page for the exact units, credit points and whether a placement or capstone is part of your intake.

Who it suits

This course suits people who already work in training, human resources, education or operations and want to move into a management role. It also suits graduates from other fields who want to specialise in learning and development without doing a full master's degree. If you are an international student, you can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while you study, and after you finish you may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream. That lets you stay and work in Australia for a period, which is useful if you want to build local experience. English requirements are set by the institute and by the Department of Home Affairs for the visa. The published standard for coursework postgraduate courses is often IELTS Academic 6.0 to 6.5 overall, but confirm the exact requirement on the official page because it can vary. Always check the CRICOS register and the institute's website for the most current information on fees, intake dates and English proficiency.

• Learning and development manager, lead the training function in a large organisation, often in government, health, retail or mining.
• Training coordinator, organise and schedule training programmes, manage trainers and track completion.
• Instructional designer, design online and face-to-face learning materials for corporate or education clients.
• Corporate trainer, deliver workshops and courses to staff, often specialising in compliance, leadership or technical skills.
• Human resources officer with a learning focus, work in HR teams on onboarding, skills development and performance support.
• Education manager in the VET sector, manage courses and teaching staff at a registered training organisation.
• E-learning developer, build digital learning content using authoring tools and learning management systems.

These roles are found across Australian industries including government, healthcare, education, mining, construction, retail and professional services. Many organisations have internal training teams, and there is also demand from private training providers and consultancies.