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About Leadership
You'll become
Average Salaries
Leadership workers may earn between $65,000 and $132,000 per year
You’ve got a head full of ideas and the ability to make sound decisions. Build in-demand professional skills, take your career to new heights, and make those ideas reality by studying a leadership course.
You’ve got a head full of ideas and the ability to make sound decisions. Build in-demand professional skills, take your career to new heights, and make those ideas reality by studying a leadership course.
In an increasingly competitive commercial environment, skilled business leaders and managers with the ability to steer companies to success are in greater demand than ever. By studying a leadership course, you’ll learn the theories underpinning management and leadership, build relevant skills in strategic planning, resource management, and managing teams, and graduate with the confidence to manage teams to success.
A broad and versatile qualification, a leadership course may lead you into a variety of different industries, and you may choose to seek employment with government, in the not-for-profit sector, or in the private sector. Industries seeking skilled leaders include fields like accounting and finance, community services, education, engineering, hospitality and tourism, and information technology. Depending on your level of qualification, you may manage a team, support strategic decision-making, or take responsibility for all management and planning.
You may choose to study a leadership course at a range of different levels, including as part of an undergraduate business degree, as a master’s degree, or as a graduate certificate or diploma qualification, which may recognise your existing work experience.
What do leadership graduates do?
As leadership course graduates work in a broad range of sectors, no two roles share the same responsibilities. However, as a leadership course graduate you can expect to work in a management-level role, which will require you to plan, organise, direct, control and review day-to-day operations of your business or team. Specifically, this may require you to perform tasks like:
- Developing and reviewing organisational objectives and plans;
- Developing and reviewing policies, standards and procedures;
- Providing day-to-day direction and management at your organisation, including coaching and managing people to achieve specific goals, and managing resources and deadlines;
- Proactively assessing and identifying risks to the organisation, and responding with decisive action and planning;
- Meeting and consulting with relevant team members on all aspects of organisational management, including finance, sales and human resources;
- Fostering organisational culture;
- Authorising activities and funding;
- Seeking out new funding sources and representing your organisation in public;
- Preparing, writing, researching and analysing reports, budgets and forecasts, and presenting them to shareholders or a board of directors; and
- Recruiting, inducing and managing staff.
You may seek employment in a leadership, management or strategic advisory role in a variety of industries, including sectors like:
- Accounting and finance
- Building and construction
- Community and social services
- Education
- Engineering, science and technology
- Health
- Hospitality and tourism
- Information technology
- Public services
- Security and risk
Career Outcomes
Career Outcomes
Studying a leadership course will also equip you with the skills necessary to run your own business or pursue an entrepreneurial venture.
Graduates of leadership courses usually pursue employment in leadership and management roles, which are available across a broad range of industries. You may choose to work as a:
- Health Promotion Practitioner
- Fitness Instructor
- Exercise Scientist
- Sports Administrator
- Sports Coach
- Financial Broker
- General Manager
- Human Resources Manager
- Property Manager
- Management Consultant
- Office Administrator
- Marketing Officer
- Business Systems Analyst
- Project Support Officer
- IT Manager
- Training Manager
- Learning and Development Manager
- Employee Relations Manager
- Workplace Relations Officer
- Human Resources Officer
- Business Manager
- Team Leader
- Coordinator
- Supervisor
- Leading Hand
- Department Manager
- Facilities Coordinator
- Service Manager
- Business Development Manager
- Product Manager
- Senior Manager
- Area Manager
- Office Manager
- Executive Personal Assistant
- Entrepreneur
- Administration Manager
- Project Assistant
- Program Coordinator
- Executive Officer
- Administration Officer
- Program Consultant
- New Business Start-Up
- Practice Manager
- Health Service Manager
- Nurse Manager
- Principal
- Deputy Principal
- Manager – Corporate Services
- Marketing Manager
- Business Supervisor
- Project Manager
- Construction Manager
- Site Supervisor
- Building Manager
- Project Supervisor
- Lead Foreman
- Manager
- Project Team Leader
- Program Manager
- Small Business Manager
- Chief Executive
- Managing Director
- Operations Manager
- Executive Manager
- CEO
- RTO Manager
- Minister
- Church Leader
- Account Manager
- Business Coordinator
- Sales Team Manager
- Teacher
- Assistant Principal
- School Administrator
- Program Leader
- Senior Executive
- Executive Director
- Administration Assistant
- Executive Assistant
- Finance Manager
- Analyst
- Chief Information Officer (CIO)
- Healthcare Manager
- Assistant Manager
- Human Resources Director
- Training Officer
- Learning Supervisor
- Change Manager
- Line Manager
- Warehouse Team Leader
- Administrative Supervisor
- Executive General Manager
- Strategic Manager
- Receptionist
- Accounts Supervisor
- Project Administrator
- view all
Is leadership right for you?
You’ll enjoy working in leadership if you:
- Are proactive
- Enjoy leading and making decisions
- Love working with people
- Have excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Like challenges and problem-solving
- Have strong organisational and time management skills
- Enjoy fast-paced and high-pressure work
- Have big ideas and plans
- Enjoy big-picture thinking
Job opportunities
A range of job opportunities exists for graduates of leadership courses. According to the Australian Government’s Job Outlook, approximately 51,000 people are employed in Australia as general managers, and a further 50,000 as chief executive officers and managing directors. For these 100,000 people, the most common educational attainment is a bachelor’s degree: approximately 27 per cent of managers, and 30 per of CEOs have bachelor’s degrees.
Job Outlook reports that against modest growth ten years ago, the role of managers has rapidly increased in size in the last five years, and is expected to continue growing until 2020.
Job Outlook also reports that approximately 47,000 people in Australia are employed as human resources managers, and that this role will similarly experience high growth in the next five years. Job Outlook notes the role has been increasing as a steady rate for the past decade, and will grow strongly in the future – with between 25,000 and 50,000 new jobs expected to become available by 2020.
People working in more specialised management roles, including as nurse managers, sales managers and construction managers can reasonably expect to receive similar growth in their sectors.
Average Salaries
PayScale reports a range of salaries for managers at different levels. A CEO can expect to earn an average salary of approximately $182,000. PayScale notes this salary is highly dependent on experience, with CEOs with 20 years’ experience or more earning up to $75,000 more than CEOs with less than five years’ experience. A general manager can expect to earn between $65,000 and $132,000 per year, according to PayScale, and will also receive a significantly higher wage with more years of experience. An operations manager can expect to earn between $65,000 and $103,000.
Job Outlook notes that a very high proportion of managers are employed in full-time work – approximately 93 per cent of all general managers are working full-time.
Industry Bodies
- Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- Business Council of Australia
- Career Industry Council of Australia