← Certificate IV qualifications
Certificate IV in Patisserie
SIT - Tourism, Travel and Hospitality
Advanced patisserie qualification covering chocolate, sugar work, plated desserts and bakery production.
Entry requirements
- Cert III in Patisserie or Commercial Cookery
What you will learn
The SIT40721 builds on Cert III foundations and prepares pastry chefs for senior section roles in pastry kitchens, bakeries and patisseries. Core units include producing pastries, gateaux, torten and cakes, producing desserts, producing chocolate confectionery, producing specialist decorative sponges and biscuits, producing artisan breads, producing petit fours, and preparing and modelling sugar paste. You also study food safety supervision under FSANZ Standard 3.2.2, menu development and costing, and supervising pastry section operations during service.
Skills you build
- Advanced pastry doughs (puff, choux, brioche, viennoiserie)
- Chocolate tempering and modelling
- Sugar work (pulled, blown, isomalt techniques)
- Plated dessert design and execution
- Wedding and special occasion cake construction
- Artisan bread fermentation and shaping
- Petit fours and chocolate confectionery
How the course runs
Most students study full-time over 12 to 18 months. Around 700 to 900 hours of formal training plus mandatory work placement of around 36 service periods. Heavily practical, with workshop production focused on a working patisserie environment. Some students complete the qualification as a paid apprenticeship under the Australian Apprenticeships framework with one day per week or block release at TAFE.
How you will be assessed
- Practical production assessments under service conditions
- Showpiece design and execution projects (sugar, chocolate)
- Written knowledge tests per unit of competency
- Food safety supervisor certification
- Plated dessert menu design assignments
Workplace and placement
Around 36 service periods of supervised pastry kitchen work placement is required. Apprentice pathway is a three-year paid Training Contract under the Australian Apprenticeships framework, working in a hotel, restaurant, bakery or patisserie. Apprentice wages are set under the Restaurant Industry Award. Pastry shifts run early starts (often before 4am for bakery production) plus weekends.
Typical employers
- Independent patisseries and cake businesses
- Hotel and resort pastry kitchens
- Fine dining and hatted restaurant pastry sections
- Cafe and bakery production kitchens
- Wholesale dessert and pastry supply businesses
- Specialty cake design studios (wedding, custom)
Pay after this qualification
$60,000 - $85,000 per year
Source: https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/explore-careers/occupation/pastrycooks. Last reviewed 2026-05-21.
Is this the right course for you?
You probably thrive here if
- You can handle very early starts (often before 4am)
- You can work precisely to recipes and weights
- You take pride in detailed decorative work
- You can stand long hours on hot kitchen floors
- You can work weekends and public holidays
It is probably not for you if
- You cannot tolerate very early start times
- You have a back or wrist condition that limits long hand work
- You react badly to flour dust or eggs
- You struggle with the precision of patisserie measurement
After you finish
After Cert IV you can pursue the Diploma of Hospitality Management (SIT50422) for executive pastry chef and head baker pathways. Specialist training in chocolate (Callebaut Chocolate Academy), sugar artistry competition prep, and Cake Design Diplomas extend technical skill. Many patissiers open their own businesses (bakery, cake studio, dessert bar) after several years in the industry. International stages with European patisseries remain a respected pathway.