Build the skills that matter in AI consulting
Plenty of people want to move into AI consulting in Australia, and the hardest part is knowing where to put your effort. The space moves fast, the marketing noise is loud, and it is not always obvious which skills a real consulting business will pay for.
This page is our answer to that question. We have shortlisted the resources we recommend for people early in their careers who want to build practical, business-focused AI skills, alongside the certifications we look for when we hire AI and Copilot consultants. The list is curated by Hypergen and updated regularly, and it reflects the work we actually do for customers rather than a generic syllabus. If your organisation wants to move faster, our AI Accelerate Workshop is a practical next step.
If you are aiming to become an AI consultant or a Copilot consultant, the path below is a useful map. Work through it in roughly the order shown, and you will build capability that compounds, from Microsoft fundamentals through to agentic AI.
Applying for a role at Hypergen?
We look very favourably on completion of the certifications below, and at a minimum we would expect at least one industry-recognised certification before we look at an application. Beyond that, the more you have engaged with the material, the stronger your application will be.
Passing for the sake of passing is not the goal. We look for people who have worked through the material, formed a point of view on it, and can apply it in practice. We would much rather talk to someone who can demonstrate what they built and what they learned than someone who has collected badges.
The Hypergen skilling pathway
The diagram below shows how the skills build on each other, from Microsoft foundations through to agentic depth. Each stage assumes the one before it.
1. Business-grade AI on Microsoft
At Hypergen we place a strong emphasis on business-grade AI, and that shapes the foundations we look for. What we find in practice is that most organisations are gravitating towards Microsoft Copilot as their platform of choice, because it sits inside the environment their data and identity already live in. If you want to see how we deliver that to teams, our Microsoft 365 Copilot training and corporate Copilot workshops are a good window into the work.
For that reason, we want you to have a solid understanding of the Microsoft environment. This applies whether you are a recent university graduate or someone more senior, and naturally the depth of your experience will differ. At a minimum, though, we are looking for a genuine appreciation of why information segregation matters, and the judgement to understand when a tenant-grounded tool like Microsoft Copilot is the right choice for an organisation's data, and when something else fits better.
The fundamentals exam AB-900 is an absolute minimum for any applicant, at any level. On top of that, AB-730 is highly desirable, because it demonstrates to us and to our customers that you understand how to work safely inside their environment and support them well as they move into AI.
Recommended certifications
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Copilot and Agent Administration Fundamentals (Exam AB-900) (minimum) - Covers how to support, secure and protect an AI-enabled Microsoft 365 environment, including identity, access, data protection and governance across Entra and Purview. This is the baseline we expect from every applicant.
- Microsoft Certified: AI Business Professional (Exam AB-730) (highly desirable) - Covers generative AI productivity tools and the core Microsoft 365 apps, focused on driving real business outcomes without writing code. Pair this with AB-900 and you have both the security foundation and the business-grade judgement we value.
2. Power Platform and Copilot Studio
AI and automation are intrinsically linked, and at Hypergen our focus is helping organisations improve their workflows and the way they work. That is why we place a great deal of emphasis on the Microsoft automation stack: Power Platform and Copilot Studio. Our AI Quickstarts show the kind of scoped, practical builds this skill set unlocks.
If you have hands-on experience with other tools and can demonstrate working demos of what you have built, for example with n8n, that counts for a lot. We care about what you can do, not only which logo is on the certificate. That said, for any mid-level or senior role, you will need to be able to build in Power Platform and Copilot Studio from day one, so the certifications below carry real weight.
We also want to see that you have built things in Copilot Studio for real, and that you have a good awareness of environments and how you push solutions through from development to test to production. Application lifecycle management is where a lot of Copilot Studio projects come unstuck, and it is one of the clearest signals of someone who can be trusted with a customer's environment.
Recommended certifications
- Microsoft Certified: AI Transformation Leader (Exam AB-731) - Focused on guiding AI transformation and innovation with Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure AI. A strong fit if you want to lead AI adoption and connect the technology back to business strategy.
- Exam PL-200: Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant - The functional path. Covers Dataverse, Power Apps, Power Automate and Power Pages, with an emphasis on configuring solutions and translating business requirements into working apps and flows. This is the right starting certification for most people who will design and build solutions without writing heavy custom code.
- Exam PL-400: Microsoft Power Platform Developer Associate - The developer path. Covers extending the platform with code: Dataverse plug-ins, custom connectors, platform APIs, Azure Functions and PCF components, along with application lifecycle management across dev, test and prod. It assumes development experience across languages like JavaScript, C# and TypeScript, plus RESTful Web APIs and Azure. Choose this if your strength is building beyond what the low-code surface offers.
In short: PL-200 proves you can configure and deliver on Power Platform, and PL-400 proves you can extend it with code. Pick the one that matches the kind of work you want to do, and be ready to explain why.
Recommended hands-on resources
- Create and Publish Agents with Microsoft Copilot Studio - Learning path covering agent creation, topics, entities, variables and best practices (6 modules).
- Copilot Studio: Generate a PowerPoint File From a Template - Tutorial on generating PowerPoint files from templates inside Copilot Studio.
- Computer Use Agent: Extract Web Page Data in Copilot Studio - Video tutorial on using a computer use agent to extract data from web pages.
- Create an MCP Server and Deploy to Copilot Studio - Video tutorial covering MCP server creation and deployment into Copilot Studio.
- Connect to Dataverse Knowledge in Copilot Studio - Tutorial on connecting Copilot Studio agents to Dataverse as a knowledge source.
- How to Use Multi-Agent Orchestration in Copilot Studio - Tutorial on coordinating multiple agents within Copilot Studio.
3. Claude
Claude is one of our most-used tools at Hypergen. We rely on it heavily for software development, and it is also a capable AI platform in its own right. A good deal of what other tools do, including parts of the Copilot ecosystem, leans on the same foundations that sit underneath Claude, so a solid understanding of how Claude works will serve you well and is something we look at favourably. If you want the business context, our Copilot Cowork training shows how this agentic approach runs inside Microsoft 365.
The resources we have linked below are the ones we recommend most. As you work through them, put your emphasis on being able to explain confidently how you have built skills with agents, and how those agents might be used for novel things well beyond software development. Showing us how you generated a polished document with Claude Code, for example, is exactly the kind of practical, transferable capability we want to see.
Recommended resources
- Introduction to Claude Cowork - Anthropic's official course on the Cowork desktop automation tool.
- Hypergen's deep dive on Copilot Cowork - How the same Cowork technology runs inside Microsoft 365, grounded in Work IQ and the enterprise security controls organisations already rely on.
- Introduction to Model Context Protocol - Covers the fundamentals of MCP, the open standard for connecting AI to tools and data.
- Introduction to Agent Skills - How to build and configure skills for Claude-powered agents.
- Introduction to Subagents - How to use subagents to break complex tasks into coordinated, specialised steps.
- Claude in Excel: How Good Is It? - Video review by Kenji Explains covering Claude's Excel integration capabilities.
Keep building with us
This list is curated by Hypergen and updated regularly as the tools and certifications evolve. We are always looking for people who are curious, practical and committed to continual learning.
Have a resource you think belongs here, or want to talk to us about a role in AI consulting? Send it through via our Contact Us form. We would love to hear from you.
Looking for a role in AI consulting?
If you have worked through the resources above and can speak confidently about what you learned, you are already ahead of most candidates.
We value portfolios and demonstrated work over credentials alone. If you are a developer, show us what you have built. If you are a consultant, show us how you think about problems. Our projects give a sense of the work our consultants take on, and the certifications on this page are a starting point, not the finish line.
Frequently asked questions
How do I become an AI consultant in Australia?
Start with the Microsoft foundations on this page: the AB-900 fundamentals exam at a minimum, then AB-730 for business-grade judgement. From there, build hands-on skills in Power Platform and Copilot Studio, and learn how agentic tools like Claude work. Most importantly, build real things and be able to explain what you learned, because we value demonstrated work over credentials alone.
What certifications does a Copilot consultant need?
At Hypergen we treat AB-900 as the baseline for every applicant, with AB-730 highly desirable. For consultants who design and build, PL-200 or PL-400 and a solid grasp of Copilot Studio carry real weight. Certifications are a starting point, not the finish line.
Do I need to know how to code to work in AI consulting?
Not necessarily. Plenty of valuable consulting work is configuration and adoption rather than custom code. PL-200 suits people who build with low-code tools, while PL-400 suits developers who extend the platform with code. Pick the path that matches the work you want to do.
Which is better for me, PL-200 or PL-400?
PL-200 proves you can configure and deliver on Power Platform without heavy custom code. PL-400 proves you can extend it with code, including plug-ins, custom connectors and Azure Functions. Choose PL-200 if your strength is functional delivery, and PL-400 if your strength is development.
