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About Human Resources
You'll become
Average Salaries
Human Resources workers may earn between $59,000 and $132,000 per year
If you’re great with people and get a buzz out of seeing others succeed, channel your passion into a rewarding professional career and study a human resources course.
You know people are the lifeblood of any business, and you want to use your skills to unleash their potential and watch your workplace excel. It starts by studying a human resources course.
Working closely with people to plan, organise, manage and monitor the human resources and workplace activities of a business or organisation, human resources professionals are passionate about the contribution people make in the workplace and committed to seeing them thrive. If you want to make a real difference with your work, and care equally about thriving teams and achieving key business goals, working in human resources is for you.
In an increasingly competitive and high-pressure business environment, skilled professionals who can strategically and calmly manage standout teams to success are in high demand. By studying a human resources course, you’ll build an in-demand professional skillset, carve out a dynamic and rewarding career path, and enjoy the satisfaction of watching your people flourish.
Working in human resources, you’ll develop plans and policies to coach people to success, ensure the compliance of your workplace with relevant statutory and regulatory obligations, and play a leading role in building a supportive and dynamic workplace culture. You’ll work closely with people to provide training and support, ensuring team success becomes a critical part of the fabric of your business.
You can study human resources management as a certificate, diploma or post-graduate diploma course, or as part of a bachelor’s or master’s degree in business, management or leadership. After completing a human resources course, you’ll likely work as a human resources manager, helping teams in a wide range of professional industries to thrive.
What do human resources graduates do?
After completing a human resources course, you’ll likely work as a human resources manager in a business, government department or not-for-profit organisation. Day-to-day, you can expect to perform tasks such as:
- Assessing human resources needs and designing, implementing, monitoring and reviewing human resources management plans, goals and strategies;
- Conducting interviews and survey with staff members to assess human resources priorities;
- Designing, implementing and evaluating human resources policies, including policies for recruitment, performance evaluations and conflict resolution;
- Advising and assisting managers in implementing policies, including applying sound recruitment and selection practices, induction and training practices, and performance management processes;
- Facilitating and mediating between staff members to resolve conflict appropriately;
- Identifying and determining training and professional development opportunities for staff, including designing and implementing training programs;
- Developing and implementing occupational health and safety programs and equal opportunity programs, and ensuring compliance with relevant statutory requirements;
- Overseeing the application of redundancy and retrenchment policies;
- Representing the organisation at negotiations with unions and other bodies;
- Monitoring and managing employment costs and productivity; and
- Performing general administrative tasks.
Career Outcomes
Career Outcomes
The Australian Government’s Job Outlook reports that human resources managers are employed across an extremely broad range of industries, and observes that employment opportunities are available for human resources course graduates in all areas of Australia.
After completing a human resources course, you’ll likely seek employment as a human resources manager. Other roles you may take on include working as a:
- Human Resources Manager
- Human Resources Consultant
- Human Resources Advisor
- Human Resources Coordinator
- Senior Human Resources Generalist
- Human Resources Officer
- Human Resources Assistant
- Human Resources Administrator
- Payroll Supervisor
- Business Manager
- Health and Safety Officer
- Safety Manager
- Safety Officer
- WHS Coordinator
- Payroll Officer
- Office Administrator
- Safety Advisor
- HR Officer
- HR Coordinator
- HR Assistant
- Safety Coordinator
- Manager
- Supervisor
- Project Leader
- Head of Business Unit
- HR Administrator
- Department Head
- Office Manager
- Team Leader
- Supervisor/Coordinator
- Work Health & Safety Advisor
- Work Health & Safety Coordinator
- Operations Officer
- Administration Manager
- Small Business Owner
- Small Business Manager
- Workplace Relations Officer
- Operations Manager
- Workplace Relations Manager
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Is human resources right for you?
You’ll thrive working in human resources if you:
- Love working with people
- Have excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Are highly organised and efficient
- Are proactive and can work independently
- Are patient and empathetic
- Are details-oriented
- Can speak confidently in public
- Like problem-solving
- Enjoy fast-paced work
- Can keep calm and level-headed in stressful situations
- Enjoy challenging yourself
- Care deeply about seeing others succeed
Job opportunities
According to Job Outlook, the human resources industry in Australia is large and growing. After experiencing modest but consistent growth over the past decade, the industry currently employs approximately 47,900 people. Job Outlook predicts significant growth in job opportunities over the next decade, anticipating an additional 6,000 workers will be required by 2020.
Average Salaries
According to PayScale, human resources managers can expect to earn on average between $59,000 and $132,000 per year, with an average annual salary of approximately $89,000.
PayScale notes a strong, positive relationship between earning potential and professional experience, reporting that human resources managers with more than 20 years of experience may expect to earn on average approximately $113,000 per year, while and entry-level human resources manager may expect to earn an average annual salary of approximately $70,000. It’s common for people to make a career out of human resources management, with PayScale reporting that approximately 45 per cent of human resources professionals have more than 10 years of experience in their roles.