Human resources courses

A human resources course will prepare you to hire, manage, train and retain an organisation’s largest investment—it’s staff. Your job will be critical to the business's everyday functioning and overall performance, which can be very fulfilling work.

Like employees, human resources courses come in all different shapes and sizes. If you’re just starting out in your career, a Bachelor of Business (Human Resource Management) is a great option to learn about the ins and outs of business and people.

If you’ve already got a bachelor degree under your belt, or your prior learning is recognised, a postgraduate degree in human resources, like a Master of Business (Human Resource Leadership) or a Master of Management (Human Resource Management), could be the way to go to gain new skills and take your career to the next level.

You’ll learn how to manage a business’s human resources (its employees and contractors) and how to act as a bridge between employees and leadership.

After completing your course, you’ll understand how to:

• Develop strategies to manage the human resource needs of a business.
• Develop training goals that help employees thrive and learn.
• Performance manage employees.
• Contribute to employee attraction and retention.
• Contribute to a workplace that engages employees and increases productivity.
• Develop and measure employment value propositions.
• Establish roles and responsibilities, manage change, and develop progression plans.
• Support employer branding.

Most businesses need human resources support. Some choose to have an in-house human resources team, while others outsource the work to a human resources agency. Either way, they need people who can manage the diverse needs, skills, training, and progression opportunities of their employees.

This means there’s no shortage of jobs in human resources, and it’s a reasonably well-paid industry. According to SEEK, the average annual salary for a human resources officer is between $75,000 and $85,000 per year, while a human resources manager’s annual salary can be up to $140,000. It’s also an industry with robust projected growth, so your chances of finding a job once you’ve graduated are good.

Online study gives you flexibility most students can only dream of. Need to drop the kids off at school before a lecture? No worries; it will be waiting for you to hit play when you’re back at your desk. Online study makes furthering your education while honouring the other commitments in your life simple.

Not sure which of the many human resources courses available through Open Universities Australia is right for you? Book a call with one of our friendly student advisors. We’ll chat to you about your options and help you find the right course to move your career in the right direction.

There are a lot of reasons to study your course online through us.

• You can enrol without entry requirements 
  We have a unique open-door policy that makes it possible for everyone to enrol in university study, no matter their academic history. If you don’t meet the entry requirements for a degree, we’ll help you get in through single undergraduate subjects and transition into a qualification from there.
• You have total control over how you study
  Upskill without committing to a whole degree upfront. Or enrol in a full degree, but take it a subject at a time. We’ll introduce you to flexible study options you didn’t even know about, so you can fit uni around what matters to you.
• You’ll graduate with the same qualification as an on-campus student
  Once you enrol through us, you’ll study online with the university that provides your degree. This means that when you complete your qualification, you’ll graduate with the same degree as on-campus students.
• We’ll help you navigate the university world
  Our friendly student advisors will be your guide every step of the enrolment journey. They'll help you compare universities, choose a course, provide documentation and understand your finance options.

Human resources is about much more than ‘hiring and firing’. You’ll be responsible for contributing positively to a workplace’s culture by making sound strategic decisions regarding its employees.

Human resource graduates can find work in a wide range of general and specialty areas, depending on the nature of their study experience. Examples include:

• Human resources advisor
• Corporate services manager
• Policy and planning manager
• Careers counsellor
• Organisational change manager
• Industrial relations manager
• Recruitment manager
• Safety and welfare coordinator

Before starting an enrolment, it’s important to read the entry requirements for your chosen course to ensure that you’re eligible to apply. If you don’t quite meet the requirements, we may be able to help you find a pathway into your course through open-entry subjects, which anyone can study.

Chat with us to find out more.

Here at Open Universities Australia, we make enrolling online as straightforward as possible. To get started, find the course for you by browsing the options on this page. You can also compare different qualifications using our handy comparison tool, or request help from one of our student advisors.

When you’ve made your choice, click ‘Apply now’ on the relevant course page and follow the prompts to begin your enrolment. We’ll ask you to supply some supporting documentation, including proof of your identity, your tax file number, and a unique student identifier (USI) during this process.

Your university will get in touch with you via email to confirm whether or not your application has been successful.

Please note that enquiries and applications for some courses are handled directly by the university. If this is the case, it will be indicated on the course listing page.  

For more information about enrolment, read our online self-service enrolling instructions. If you get stuck at any time, contact us and we’ll talk you through it.