A late-night phone call from the UK isn’t something most people expect, especially not at 11.30pm. But for Nelson-based first aid trainer Vanessa Fraser, it was the moment she found out she’d been named a 2026 winner in the global Prestige Awards, saying, “I feel very privileged to have been recognised throughout NZ in this way.”
The award, First Aid Training Company of the Year, went to her business, Corporate Public Response Training & Eventing Limited – better known locally as CPR Train. For those who know Vanessa, the recognition feels well earned. Her career in emergency services began back in 1993 when she signed up as a volunteer firefighter and then became a volunteer ambulance officer as well. That depth of frontline experience now underpins every course she teaches. “I’ve seen people when they were at their most vulnerable and it is a privilege to be a part of that,” she says.
In 2015, Vanessa decided to channel decades of experience into her own venture and launched CPR Train. The business delivers NZQA-accredited first aid training, electrical first aid and tailored corporate courses across the top of the South Island, West Coast and Canterbury. What sets CPR apart is its practical focus. Courses are designed around the real environments and risks faced by each organisation, rather than offering a generic programme.
According to the Prestige Awards judges, it’s that combination of accredited training and real-world emergency expertise that makes CPR Train stand out on the global stage. They were particularly impressed by the highly experienced instruction behind every course, led by a professional with more than three decades in the first aid industry and frontline ambulance and fire service experience. Vanessa has also authored a first aid book – a natural extension of her passion for equipping people with practical, life-saving knowledge.
