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Online institutions and universities offer a wide variety of qualifications that can help you achieve your dream career. If you’re interested in studying or upgrading your skills in a specific role or industry, we’re here to help you decide what type of qualification to take.
Understanding the differences among the various qualifications available (e.g. diploma courses, degrees, and flexible online courses would be the first step. In this blog post, we’ve focused on discussing the differences between diploma courses and certificate courses in Australia for a more specific approach. You can also check out our previous article about the differences between diplomas and degrees for cross-reference.
Let’s look at the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) to understand how certificate courses work. The AQF starts with Certificate I and progresses to a Doctoral Degree.
As its name suggests, Certificate I is deemed the most basic qualification. Designed for high school students, studying Certificate I will give you basic, fundamental, and technical skills required to function in a specific field. Next, we move on to Certificate II. graduates of this certificate will have intermediate technical skills required for the use of specific tools and equipment for various purposes. You will also be taught some proven techniques that can help solve industry issues.
You then have Certificate III. Graduates of this certificate would have the technical skills necessary for undertaking routine and some non-routine tasks in several skilled operations. You will be equipped with the problem-solving and training skills required to pass on technical information to a wide range of audiences – both non-specialists and specialists.
The highest level of all of the certificates is Certificate IV. Graduates of this certificate are expected to have gained advanced technical capabilities and communication skills needed to provide advice in learning and work, as well as guiding activities. With this certificate, you can be considered a specialist in your chosen field, possessing the knowledge and experience needed to identify, analyse, and compare data and statistics relevant to your job.
Studying certificate courses would take less than a year. However, if you take the course online, you can finish it at your own time and pace within a specified period provided by the institution.
Online courses are considered “level five” on the learning scale of Australia. This means that you’ll learn not just the advanced techniques, skills, and knowledge about a specific industry; you’ll also learn creative and specialised information that can help you better express your perspective, syntheses, and ideas related to the career you’d like to take.
Taking a diploma course would last between one and two years, but taking it online would give you the privilege to finish it at your own pace in a specific timeframe.
Graduate diploma courses are also available in Australia. You will need a bachelor’s degree to enroll in such since their purpose is to add up to what you’ve learned in your undergraduate degree. This is also beneficial for people who’d like to upgrade their qualifications for promotion purposes.
Choosing what type of qualification to study would be easier now that you know the basic differences between diploma courses and certificate courses in Australia.
In case you’d like to embark on your journey in learning here at Get Course, please don’t hesitate to let us know by filling out the enquiry form. You can find it by clicking the orange button below.
Good luck!
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