EU priorities in VET - from Osnabrück to Herning and beyond

Irene Mandl holds Master’s degrees in international business administration (with specialisation in marketing and organisational planning) and in business and law (with specialisation in HR management). Before joining Cedefop, she worked in policy-oriented socioeconomic research in the fields of employment and labour market, as well as entrepreneurship and industry analysis. She was Head of the research unit ‘Employment’ at the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) where she was leading the cross-European research on labour market developments (including new forms of work and employment and the future of work, digitalisation, climate change, restructuring and related public policy approaches) and topics at the intersection of employment and entrepreneurship (such as job creation, workplace practices, small and medium-sized enterprises, business start-ups and scale-ups and internationalisation, including HR management in international businesses). 

George Kostakis is the Department Coordinator on VET and qualifications in Cedefop and leads Cedefop’s work on VET policies and systems which analyses developments and implementation of national VET policies in line with the VET Recommendation and Osnabruck Declaration. His thematic expertise includes quality assurance in VET and international qualifications.

Irina Jemeljanova has been an expert in Cedefop since 2005. She worked in the study visits programme (2007-13) team and coordinated the work on teachers and trainers’ professional development in vocational education and training (VET) in 2011-19. In 2013-19, Irina also conducted thematic country reviews on apprenticeship in Croatia, Cyprus, Lithuania, and Slovenia.

Ioannis N. Katsikis is the ReferNet Coordinator at Cedefop. An Innovation Engineer by education, he holds an MSc in Environmental Policy & Management and an MBA: Business Process Management, both from the University of the Aegean, Greece. He is also the holder of an MPhil in Architecture and Space Planning from the School of Architecture at the National Technical University of Athens, Greece. Prior to joining Cedefop, he worked as an Academic Tutor at the University of Athens and as a freelance Strategic Management Consultant (2005-2013) while studying for a PhD at the Athens University of Economics and Business.

Seconded national expert from the Stare Foundation for Training in Employment (Fundae) in Spain. She is currently collaborating with the VET Policies and Systems (VPS) team, where she plays an integral role in monitoring and analysing vocational education and training (VET) policies and systems. 

Dmitrijs Kuļšs is an expert in VET policies, systems, and key competences. At Cedefop, he is a member of the VET policies and systems team, where he coordinates work on VET system descriptions and contributes to policy analysis. 

Anthie Kyriakopoulou (PhD) is a Cedefop expert working on VET policies and systems, and quality assurance in VET. She has contributed to Cedefop’s work on VET policy monitoring, analysis and reporting; VET teachers’ and trainers’ professional development; early leaving from education and training; and young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs). 

Vicky Oraiopoulou is a Policy Officer at Cedefop, working in the fields of vocational education and training (VET) and Qualifications and credentials. She manages country reporting for two Member States, contributes to the European Inventory of National Qualifications Frameworks and coordinates the Spotlight on VET EU27+ publication series. 

Silke Gadji is a policy officer in the Department for VET and Qualifications at Cedefop. She worked on the study visits programme and has been a member of the VET policy and system teams since 2014. In this role, she analyses developments and implementation of national VET policies aligned with EU priorities and coordinates the National News on VET.

Eirini Monsela is a seconded national expert at Cedefop’s Department for VET and Qualifications, specialising in vocational education and training (VET) policies and systems. Since 2021, she has overseen policy reporting and analysis for several EU countries, drafting policy briefs and monitoring national developments in line with EU priorities. Before joining Cedefop, she was Advisor at the Greek Ministry of Education, where she worked on European and international affairs, intercultural education and Greek diaspora education. 

Veronika Leiner works within the Department for VET and Qualifications (DVQ). She specializes in VET policy research and analysis and contributes to Cedefop’s Key Competences in VET project. 

Nikolaos Georgiadis is an Expert in Cedefop’s VET Policies and Systems (VPS) team, being the country manager for BG, DK and MT and a member of the Mobility Scoreboard project team. He holds a PhD in Philosophy of Media and an MA in Television Studies. 

Aristos Theocharous works at Cedefop, where he focuses on the analysis and monitoring of vocational education and training (VET) systems and policies, including national qualifications frameworks (NQFs). His work supports the transparency and comparability of qualifications across Europe, contributing to better understanding of national reforms and their alignment with European priorities. 

Ms. Olga Kafetzopoulou is the Secretary General of Vocational Education, Training (VET) and Lifelong Learning (LLL) of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports since August 2024. She studied Chemical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens and holds two master's degrees in Environmental Hygiene and Business Administration. She is fluent in English and French.
She has 32 years of experience in areas such as VET policies development & implementation, European programs, coordination of co-financed projects, unit organization, training unit management and human resource development. She has taught at numerous seminars and led scientific teams.

Lisa Rustico is an expert in human capital development at the European Training Foundation, where she works on work-based learning, adult learning, monitoring of VET policies in EU candidate countries, and she is country liaison for North Macedonia. She developed her international experience working for eight years as an expert in Cedefop; and before that as researcher and consultant in universities and other public and private, national and international organisations.

Jan Varchola works in Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, in the unit dealing with vocational education and training (VET). He leads a team working on the VET policies, relations with EU presidencies, Advisory Committee for Vocational Training, VET providers associations and implementation of the EU VET tools.