SIR50317 is the nationally recognised Diploma of Retail Merchandise Management. It prepares you for work as a retail manager (general). It is current on the national register, with no earlier version recorded. Employers posted about 3,543 retail manager (general) jobs in June 2026, down 3.1% on a year earlier.
The independent signals behind the Diploma of Retail Merchandise Management are weak right now. The official shortage list does not rate its occupations in shortage and enrolments are falling. Weigh both sides.
Job ads for retail manager (general)s are holding steady. About 3,543 retail manager (general) jobs were advertised online in June 2026, down 3.1% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 42,900 job ads, while 25 people were training in the qualification nationally (2025). Ads show the market. Enrolments show the pipeline. Neither is a job promise.
Australia's official shortage list rates retail manager (general)s, antique dealers, betting agency managers, hair or beauty salon managers, post office managers and travel agency managers as not in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Retail Manager (General), Antique Dealer, Betting Agency Manager, Hair or Beauty Salon Manager, Post Office Manager and Travel Agency Manager as not in shortage.
Retail manager (general) jobs are projected to stay about flat. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 250,748 workers in May 2025, 255,807 by May 2030 (up 2%) and 267,728 by May 2035 (up 6.8%).
Enrolments in the Diploma of Retail Merchandise Management are dropping fast. Across Australia, 45 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 25, down 44.4% in a year.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for SIR50317 is being verified against official program lists.
Eligibility and student contributions vary by program and provider. The official state listing is the source of truth. In a subsidised place the government pays most of the tuition and you pay a co-contribution set by the program and provider.
The Diploma of Retail Merchandise Management is 11 units: 7 core, plus 4 electives chosen from 9 options on the register.
No Get Course partner currently lists this qualification. Check the national register for organisations approved to deliver it, and remember that approval to deliver is a regulatory fact, not a recommendation. You can browse live courses from our partners and enquire today.
Browse coursesGet Course maps SIR50317 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 1421) so the mapping can be checked. Job advertisement counts come from the Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index and count online ads, not vacancies filled. Enrolment counts come from NCVER Total VET Activity and count people in training, not completions. Funding rows appear only after verification against the official state program list. Source vintages: employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; NCVER Total VET Activity 2025 collection; Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; register training.gov.au, synced 6 September 2026; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.