meet the trainers
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Cornzal has been offering industry-leading courses for over 20 years. Enquire now if you are a student wanting to kick-start a successful career or an employer seeking industry-ready graduates.
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Karen Heard
Meet Karen – Cornzal’s resident Resident Nurse (RN) with more than 40 years’, hands-on experience across various industries/sectors, including health, disability and community services. Karen is an all-things healthcare expert, delivering education and training spanning infection control, enteral feeding, and complex wound care, among many other specialties. Karen teaches these competencies as part of our nationally recognised training programs (such as the Certificates III & IV in Individual Support) and via our distinct suite of micro-credentials. For prospective students seeking to acquire or develop NDIS high-intensity support skills, look no further – Karen is your go-to trainer!
Karen has worked everywhere – from bustling cities, to regional, rural and remote communities. She understands the challenges of thin markets and what it takes to put your best foot forward professionally, no matter the setting. Instead of describing what Karen can do, it would be more efficient to list the ‘cannots’, so diverse is her background – which enables her to train and assess credentials in virtually all of Cornzal’s faculties.
Karen is deeply committed to the health and education sectors in Australia and has spent many years contributing to development of robust, targeted, sector-aligned curricula. Karen personally pursues education to ensure her capabilities remain intact, current and best-practice, and can therefore enthusiastically attest to the value of quality education and training.
What sets Karen apart? Her teaching style! She is an exceptionally dedicated educator who leads with compassion and empathy. In Karen, you gain not only a trainer, but a mentor.
A client said the following of Karen –
Karen Heard has been training our disability support staff for several years now. Karen is an inspiring trainer. She conveys her depth of knowledge as a registered nurse in a creative and engaging way to motivate our staff. She is passionate about supporting us to upskill our staff and pass on her knowledge so we can provide outstanding support to all our participants. She is an asset to my company and my staff.
Patrick Alldridge
Director, In Touch Support
Vijay Pudhucode
Meet Vijay – Cornzal’s go-to Hospitality guru! Not only can Vijay whip you up an espresso so satisfying it might just rewrite your mornings, but he’ll also generously educate you in the barista’s coveted craft. Beyond Vijay’s coffee (and broader Hospitality) expertise, he excels as a seasoned trainer and assessor of Cornzal’s Retail, Business and First Aid qualifications.
Vijay’s VET practitioner journey began decades ago in India’s deluxe five-star hotels, where he honed an acute Hospitality and Customer Service know-how. Vijay then made the move to Australia and realised his true calling: training individuals from diverse backgrounds facing barriers to their employment. Vijay was highly motivated to see his students successfully complete their qualifications and land jobs in relevant fields, leveraging in-demand capabilities developed through education and training.
What makes Vijay special? His infectious passion! Vijay’s signature smile is known to make even the most nervous student feel totally at ease, providing reassurance and instilling confidence as they navigate the requirements of their course. Vijay’s rich background uniquely positions him to effectively uplift students from all walks of life, and his training philosophy is underscored by flexibility. Vijay will tailor his approach to meet your specific needs, including facilitating one-on-one sessions for clients who merit more support.
Vijay is a student favourite and will collaborate with you every step of the way, offering guidance as you work towards – and undoubtedly achieve – your vocational goals!
Jennifer Inglis
Meet Jennifer – our Retail and Business powerhouse! Jennifer has an extensive background in Human Resources and is a bona fide industrial relations authority. Jennifer deploys this acumen when training and assessing Retail, Business and Hospitality qualifications, short courses and Cornzal’s bespoke suite of micro-credentials (the full gamut!) – which she delivers committedly, dynamically, and impactfully.
Jennifer’s training journey kicked off back in 2004, when she worked as an HR executive for Australian giants like Coles, MYER and IGA. It was at these companies Jennifer witnessed firsthand the transformative power of professional development for both industry and individuals. She realised that undertaking structured learning, and adopting a ‘lifelong learning’ mentality, are what set people apart professionally and personally.
Jennifer subscribes to the idea that education and training inevitably expand people’s ‘Cs’: their competency, confidence and choice. She is passionate about empowering her own Cornzal students to grow their ‘Cs,’ and is time and time again inspired by the job- seekers, changers, explorers and makers who walk through Cornzal’s literal or figurative (online) doors in pursuit of opportunity. Jennifer feels most rewarded when she harnesses her students’ point of uniqueness to help them charter a tailored/personalised path forward, with the goal of gaining meaningful and relevant employment. In this way, Jennifer feels poised to make a real difference to Australia’s workforce.
Jennifer’s students agree; she is their champion, and her own competency, confidence in them, and training approach that affords flexibility and choice, make a measurable difference in their lives.
