Catherine Carrick managing director of the Carrick Institute of Education

Catherine Carrick, the founder and managing director of the Carrick Institute of Education.

Catherine's has 20 years of experience as a successful business women, starting a business from scratch and turning it into a profitable education and training business. Catherine is a pioneer in private vocational education in Australia.

In 1987, in response to what she identified as a critical need to improve standards across the Australian tourism hospitality and service industries, Catherine established the Australian College for Travel and Hospitality - the first private Australian educational institute specialising in travel and hotel training.

This ability to quickly react to a specific skills shortage is a hallmark of Catherine's approach. Her diverse experience in hospitality and management around Australia, Europe and Asia has provided her with a unique insight into the Australian industry, and has led her to demand, and strive to deliver, global best-practices in Australian service industries.

For more than 20 years, Catherine has delivered on her philosophy of responding to the needs of industry, adapting to changes in learning and the evolving demands of Australian and international students by providing relevant courses and employment assistance for her graduates.

What began as ACTH is now the Carrick Institute of Education. Carrick provides 38 courses in Melbourne and Sydney across a broad range of industries, from patisserie to accounting, delivering job skills and pathways into higher education to more than 5,000 students. More campuses are planned in Melbourne and Sydney, and there are also plans to open campuses in Adelaide and Brisbane.

Before establishing ACTH, Catherine worked in hospitality, health services and recruitment around the world. Her experience includes national administration and personnel for an Australia-wide business college, customer service in health, management of a prominent Melbourne nightclub, various roles in hospitality in Germany and London, tourism roles in Queensland and work in hospitality in the Sports sector.