Mobile App Specialisation
Turn the app idea in your head into a working product
Build a real mobile app in six months or less – guided by mentors, shaped around your idea, and grounded in practical development skills.
From product idea to real world mobile app
Stop leaving your best app idea only in your head. Explore the idea, plan the user experience, build the core features and test a working mobile app with experienced mentors beside you.
The course is built around the five units in the ICTSS00167 Basic Application Development Programmer Skill Set. So not only do you get the knowledge to build an app from start to finish but you also get a Nationally Recognised Training Skillset to help advance your career.
No previous programming qualification is required. You just need to come ready for step by step training that will guide you through each stage of a mobile app development and easy access to industry proven trainers to help you develop your idea into an actual deployed mobile application.
How the project comes together
Work through a structured delivery cycle used in professional app projects: define the opportunity, design the experience, build the core solution, then test and improve it.
Stage 1: Research and define the mobile app features
Research the target users, their needs and the problem the app should solve. Compare similar apps, identify the essential user journeys, write practical user stories, prioritise features for the first release and define what the app must do before any coding begins.
Stage 2: Set up your project and design the user interfaces
Set up the development project, choose the tools and organise the code repository. Map the user journey, sketch the main screens, create interface layouts, plan navigation and decide how the app will handle its data before development begins.
Stage 3: Build and integrate the core features
Build the core screens and navigation, create reusable interface components, implement the primary user workflow and connect the app to its data. Use version control, manage changes in small increments, handle common errors and keep the code organised as the working build develops.
Stage 4: Test, release and plan the next iteration
Test the main user journeys on realistic devices or screen sizes, check inputs and error states, record and fix defects, review usability and confirm the app meets the agreed feature list. Prepare a clear demonstration, document known limitations and plan the next development iteration.
The formal skill set outcome
The specialisation is built around the five units in ICTSS00167 Basic Application Development Programmer Skill Set.
Units covered
- ICTPRG430 Apply introductory object-oriented language skills
- ICTPRG439 Use pre-existing components
- ICTPRG440 Apply introductory programming skills in different languages
- ICTPRG443 Apply intermediate programming skills in different languages
- ICTPRG549 Apply intermediate object-oriented language skills
What that means for learners
- Build a foundation in application programming and several programming languages
- Use object-oriented thinking to organise code and make it easier to change
- Work with reusable components and existing programming resources
- Practise testing, problem solving and explaining how your app works
- Build a pathway toward ICT40120 Certificate IV in Information Technology or further study where suitable
What you will be able to do
- Turn a real problem or app idea into a clear plan, screens and features mapped out before you build.
- Write and change working code using clear, step-by-step tutorials in multiple programming languages.
- Use ready-made building blocks to speed up your app development
- Organise your app project files and use common ways to search, sort and update it as the project grows.
- Find and fix mistakes, test your app, keep notes on what you tested and make improvements with confidence.
- Build a working data driven app with screens people find easy to use and know how an app is developed in an interative agile way
Career outcomes
Possible roles for graduates, with a rough Australian salary guide based on comparable roles advertised on SEEK, LinkedIn and Indeed.
Mobile App Developer
Indicative annual salary$132,000Roles building, testing and maintaining mobile applications.
Android / iOS Developer
Indicative annual salary$132,000Platform-focused mobile development roles using Android or iOS toolchains.
Software Developer
Indicative annual salary$132,000Broader software roles where app development skills support product and delivery teams.
Salary guide only: figures are approximate base salaries in AUD before superannuation and may vary by location, experience, specialisation and employer. Sources: SEEK, LinkedIn and Indeed. Salary ranges are indicative and may change as the market changes.
Industry outlook
Mobile development sits within the wider Software and Applications Programmers market, where app, API, testing and product skills can transfer across many technology employers.
Australian workforce
203,200people employed as Software and Applications Programmers.
Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profile.Annual employment growth
+13,700additional people employed over the latest annual period reported by JSA.
Jobs and Skills Australia trend data.Live job listings
Current listingsSoftware developer listings visible across three major Australian job boards.
Listings change daily; view live results: SEEK · LinkedIn Jobs · IndeedThese figures are indicators, not a guarantee of employment. Last JSA update: 13 October 2026. JSA notes that its occupation profiles use ABS data and that job-board counts change daily. JSA’s ten-year projections are indicative trends based on current assumptions, not precise forecasts. Read the JSA projections methodology.
Is Mobile App Specialisation right for you?
You can start with no previous understanding of programming. This course is for people who want to turn an app idea, into a real application they can launch on the google app store to billions of potential new customers or users.
- Starting point: You do not need a previous programming qualification or training. You do need basic computer confidence and the patience to learn one step at a time.
- Motivation: You have an app idea, a problem you want to solve or simply want to learn by making something real. You are willing to try, make mistakes, ask questions and try again in a supportive environment.
- Study time: Plan for regular weekly time to follow the guided activities, practise between sessions, work on your app and complete assessment tasks.
- Technology access: You need reliable internet and a computer that can run the development tools used in the course. You do not need to arrive knowing how those tools work.
- Learning pathway: This is a practical starting point for further study. The skill set can support a pathway into ICT40120 Certificate IV including credit.
What you will need
Bring a defined problem, audience or workflow to explore. You do not need to arrive with technical answers; the course gives you a structured way to investigate, build and improve the solution.
- A reliable internet connection and suitable computer
- Time each week for coding practice and project work
- Permission to install required development tools
- A Unique Student Identifier (USI) for nationally recognised training
Fees and payment
Pay as you learn with manageable weekly payments of $95 The maximum course fee is $2,470, based on the maximum 26 weeks payment period.
Your goals can change. Your fees should change with them
Pay just $95 per week while you study—without being locked into the maximum course fee.
Complete all required units early and your weekly payments stop early.
Some providers may still require you to pay the full course fee if you withdraw or decide the course is not right for you.
With Automation Skills, you may withdraw at any time and future weekly course-fee payments will stop.
If you withdraw, you will be issued a Statement of Attainment for every unit you have successfully completed.
Talk to us if you would like us to explain how early completion, withdrawal or your final payment works. Review our Fees, Cancellations, Withdrawals and Refunds policy for the full conditions.
A practical pathway to a defined outcome
At a maximum of $2,470, Mobile App Specialisation gives you six months of mentor-supported access to develop practical programming capability and a completed app if you put the work in. The weekly payment model keeps the commitment manageable. And at the end if you are wanting to further expand on your skills you can progress into the ICT40120 Certificate IV in Information Technology.
Where this can take you next
Successful completion is intended to support the ICTSS00167 Basic Application Development Programmer Skill Set outcome. The skill set has credit toward the ICT40120 Certificate IV in Information Technology and then onto the ICT50220 Diploma of Information Technology.
If you already have relevant study, workplace experience or project skills, ask about recognition of prior learning or credit transfer.
Ready to make your app real?
Tell us what you want to build and we can talk through Mobile App Specialisation, study expectations and the right next step.
Free one-to-one session
Book a free career and course counselling session.
Talk with me about your goals, experience and the best next step for your career or study pathway. Choose a convenient time and the session will take place on Zoom.