Ensuring all the Pieces fit Together

KORNERSTONE is a renowned professional training provider in Asia, boasting over 10 years of experience in providing professional training programs to individuals and corporate members. We profile the firm and speak to Managing Director Catherine Chan as we look to explore the secrets behind the extensive achievements of the organisation following their recent success in APAC Global Excellence awards where they were awarded The Leading Providers of Professional Training Courses – Asia.

Located in Hong Kong, KORNERSTONE is dedicated to providing effective, desirable and innovative learning experience for individuals and corporations to achieve success. With the letter K standing for Knowledge, KORNERSTONE has a strong belief that knowledge is the cornerstone of success for every business.

TRAINOCATE becomes the major stakeholder of KORNERSTONE in January 2017. Combined, the companies possess 30 years of experience in delivering superior professional development and certification programs in IT, finance, and management across Asia including Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Hong Kong, China, Thailand and Vietnam.

Predominantly, the team at KORNERSTONE works with enterprise and individual professionals in providing four domains of training services: Certification Programs; Corporate Training; Continuing Development Programs and Event Management Solutions. The team has a long-term vision
of keeping individuals and corporations at the forefront of professional knowledge and best practices in the respective industries.

Within the professional education sector, it is important that companies are able to stand out amongst their competitors. Catherine comments on what attributes Kornerstone possesses which help it to stand out within the sector.

“Here at Kornerstone, we maintain high-quality and consistency in terms of trainers, course materials, customer service, consultation, student service, facilities set us apart from our competitors. Professionals trust us to deliver superior courses and certification preparation with excellent curriculum and experienced instructors.”

Providing us with a brief overview of the industry within Hong Kong, Catherine tells us about the sector currently, and what techniques the team adopts in order to ensure a successful outcome at the end of the process. Catherine talks glowingly about the industry at the moment, and what
outside influences are having an impact on the firm, as well as presenting opportunities for KORNERSTONE. “In recent years, Hong Kong’s continuing and professional education sector has flourished, as more and more people have sought to upgrade their academic qualifications and improve their career prospects.

“Multinational companies and organisations have long realised the benefits of staff training. This awareness has now begun to spread to smaller and mediumsized enterprises, which are spending more resources on training to increase their competitiveness and retain staff.

“For individual employees, in order to increase their competitive edge in the job market, they are willing to invest in training. With some roles in finance and IT industry, professional qualifications are the focus. There is a need for qualified professionals to fill in-demand jobs. To secure/ accelerate a career in Hong Kong, it is important to invest in professional courses as part of career development.”
Providing training opportunities to all staff, staff are constantly monitoring the relevant trends and developments within the market which enable the team to be one step ahead. The team at KORNERSTONE is providing training opportunities to all staff in order to keep up with industry changes, and provide ongoing training to make sure the staff’s skills and knowledge are up-to-date. Through ongoing job training, staff are constantly advancing, and it helps the team to remain competitive within the marketplace.

Operating within the APAC region, the team at KORNERSTONE have had to adapt to many challenges in order to become successful in the region. Catherine references these challenges when explaining how the team has had to adapt their techniques to deal with different generations.
“The increased adoption of technologies in Asia which leads to the growth of blended learning is the challenge that we need to overcome. Older generations tend to be more comfortable with traditional, face-to-face training, whereas younger generations might prefer interactive,
technology-based learning. How to incorporate difference forms of learning to meet the training needs of different generations is a new challenge for us.”

Internally, Catherine ensures that all staff are equipped to provide the best possible service to clients. As a result, KORNERSTONE is well placed to catapult itself to the top of the industry, and in her concluding comments Catherine outlines what hopes she has for the business moving forward.
“Within the company, it is all about Intrapreneurship. We treat every staff as an intrapreneur and encourage them to innovate and undertake something new. There are large room and high flexibility for them to think outside of the box. Staff contribute through their innovation, develop new products and services, which helps the company grow, stay ahead of competitors and provide the best possible services to clients.

“Due to business expansion, we will expand our service in China and open a new training centre in Kwun Tong in 2019.”