Launching the new lifelong guidance framework

Jürgen Siebel joined Cedefop from the private sector in September 2019. As Executive Director, he is responsible for managing the Agency’s operations in accordance with the strategic direction of its tripartite Management Board.

Mara Brugia is the Deputy Director of Cedefop, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training. She has been involved in vocational education and training (VET) since 1994. As Head of Department from 2004 to 2014, she managed teams of European experts working in research and policy analysis to support the development and implementation of the Union policy in the field of VET, skills and qualifications.

Cynthia Harrison is a Policy officer at the Department for VET and Skills, area of learning and employability.

Ernesto Villalba-Garcia has worked at Cedefop since 2011. He is currently responsible for Cedefop’s work on validation of non-formal and informal learning. He has worked, together with the Commission, on the monitoring, implementation and evaluation of the 2012 Council Recommendation on validation, as well as on several updates of the European inventory of validation and the European guidelines. Ernesto has served in different committees and working groups of the European Commission, the OECD, and UNESCO. He holds a PhD in International and comparative education from Stockholm University and is on the editorial board of the European Journal of Education.

Alessandra Biancolini is an expert in European vocational education and training and labour market policies, with over 20 years of experience in EU funding, skills transparency, and work‑based learning. 

She has supported the development of dual systems and apprenticeships in Italy, contributed to EU‑level VET cooperation, led the National Europass Centre (2017–2023). 

Ilias Livanos is a Cedefop expert in Skills and the Labour Market. Working at Cedefop Department for VET and Skills, Ilias had led various flagship Cedefop projects, such as the Skills Forecast and the European skills index while he is currently serving as the department’s Strategic Outreach expert. Ilias is an economist by training, with a master’s degree in industrial relations and a PhD in employment research.

Marianne Almbakk is a Senior Advisor at the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, working at national level with quality development in career guidance across sectors. 

Her work focuses on the implementation of the Norwegian Quality Framework for Career Guidance through digital tools, professional learning resources, and practice‑based methodologies. She has a particular interest in how digitalisation and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, can support equitable access, reflective practice, and sustainable quality in career guidance services. 

Tatjana Babrauskienė is a trade union expert in European education and vocational training policy, bringing decades of strategic leadership to the intersection of social dialogue and lifelong learning. Tatjana served as the Chairperson of the Cedefop Management Board in 2019 and remained a dedicated member of the Enlarged Bureau throughout all her mandate since 2004. 

Inga Balnanosienė is Director of the Lithuanian Employment Service under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, with more than 15 years of leadership experience in public administration and employment policy. 

She has led major organisational reforms, institutional strategy, HR and performance management, and EU-funded employment initiatives in Lithuania and internationally. 

Jerzy Bielecki, MA in Sociology and certified career counsellor, works as a research assistant at the Educational Research Institute – National Research Institute. His research interests include: the labour market, career guidance, vocational education and training, language and the history of work. 

Jerzy has been the coordinator for ReferNet Poland since 2024, having previously served as national representative (2016-2019) and executive member (2020-2023). He serves as Core member of Cedefop's CareersNet network. Formerly career counsellor and VET teacher.

Wolfgang Bliem is a team leader and project manager at ibw Austria – Research & Development in VET. For over 20 years, he has been leading projects focusing on career guidance, qualifications, research, and apprenticeship training. Since 2017, he has been the Austrian core member of Cedefop’s CareersNet and, since 2018, the national coordinator for ReferNet Austria.

Pauline Boivin is Project and Policy Manager at the Lifelong Learning Platform. She has nine years of experience in the field of European project management and in monitoring and analysing EU education policy developments. Over the years, she has specialised in EU skills, validation and guidance policies. She is a member of several European Commission working groups, including EQF AG and ESCO WG. 

Tibor Bors Borbély-Pecze (PhD habil.) is a prominent Hungarian scholar and policy expert specializing in lifelong guidance and labour market policies. He is an associate professor at ELTE University, Budapest, and has served as a key expert for the European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network (ELGPN). His work focuses on career development systems, public employment services, and the Youth Guarantee program. A prolific author, he bridges the gap between academic research and public policy to improve how societies support individuals in navigating career transitions.

Concetta Fonzo is Deputy National Coordinator of the Italian EQAVET National Reference Point and of ReferNet Italy. She is a member of the research group “Accreditation and Quality for Training” at INAPP, within the Training Systems Structure, where she contributes to the implementation of National Operational Programmes funded by the European Social Fund (ESF). She is a public policy analyst and an expert in the EQAVET Peer Review methodology, with extensive experience in European policy frameworks.

Dr Carol Guildea is the Guidance Specialist in the Department of Education and Youth (Ireland) and leads the Guidance Unit. This work involves a number of different streams, including implementation of the lifelong- and school- focused actions contained in the National Strategic Framework for Lifelong Guidance (2024-2030), chairing the advisory group for lifelong guidance and coordination of the Guidance Support Service to the European Schools.

Ramon IRIARTE, is a Senior Education Program Specialist in the Section for Youth, Literacy, and Skills Development at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. With extensive experience in Education, Science, and Technology, he has worked as a TVET teacher, university lecturer, and researcher while holding various senior leadership roles in both public and private institutions. 

Ilze Astrīda Jansone holds a Master’s degree in Education, with a professional qualification in Career Counselling. She has been working with international relations in the education sector since 1992 and with the Euroguidance network since 2007, holding the position of Euroguidance programme manager for Latvia since 2018. She is currently serving as the network’s Steering Group Chair. She is a board member of IAEVG since 2019, holding the post of Treasurer since 2021.

Florian Kadletz works as Human Capital Development Expert for the European Training Foundation (ETF).  Among his main responsibilities is leading ETFs work in the area of career guidance in a lifelong perspective through, inter alia, the development of methodological tools, provision of policy advice, cooperation with international partners and facilitation of peer learning. Mr Kadletz also responsible for adult learning within ETF together with colleagues and engages in work related to excellence in vocational education and training and innovation in teaching and learning. In the last thirteen years, Mr Kadletz worked with a wide variety of stakeholders and countries on key competences, pedagogy, quality assurance in education and training, including teacher education.

Dr. Jaana Kettunen is an internationally recognized Professor of Lifelong Guidance at the Finnish Institute for Educational Research (FIER), University of Jyväskylä. She currently serves as the President of the International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance (IAEVG), is a nominated national expert for Cedefop’s CareersNet network of independent experts and a member of its Advisory Group. She is also a Lifelong Guidance Guidelines working group member.

Caroline Mancel holds master’s degrees in Translation (Ghent), Public Management (Brussels), and European Studies (Exeter). She has over 30 years of experience in public administration within the Brussels‑Capital Region, with a strong background in European affairs, research and innovation policy, and labour market governance.

Dr. Elias Margadjis is the Director of Secondary TVET at the Cyprus Ministry of Education. He holds a BSc in Furniture Design - Production from the City of London Polytechnic and a Master’s degree in Educational Administration and Policy from the State University of New York at Albany. He also holds a Doctorate in Educational Administration and Evaluation from the University of Cyprus.

Kristina Mazalin is a Senior Adviser at the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) Central Office, specializing in lifelong career guidance and education. She currently coordinates the CISOK network and deals with implementation of adult education policies. 

Dr Jennifer McKenzie is a professionally qualified and experienced Lifelong Guidance Specialist and the Director of McKenzie Guidance Solutions Ltd – a consultancy company established to provide expert advice in career development and lifelong guidance sectors in the areas of research, policy, strategy and practice at national and international level. 

Pedro Moreno da Fonseca is a Lifelong Learning Specialist at the International Labour Organization (ILO) headquarters in Geneva. He conducts research and provides support to the ILO’s constituents in the development of national skills and lifelong learning systems. His portfolio also includes skills policies and governance, social partner engagement, career development policies, financing of lifelong learning, skills utilization, and the development of qualification systems.

Glenda leads the Skills and Future Readiness division at the OECD looking at how skill needs are changing in the labour market and identifying effective policy responses, particularly in the area of adult learning and on-the-job training for the AI and green transitions. Glenda’s team provides advice to countries, carries out comparative analysis and contributes to the development and analysis of the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and the accompanying employer module on skill gaps. Glenda holds a PHD in Economics from the University of Oxford. 

Ema Perme is a recognized expert in education policy and lifelong guidance, at the Ministry of Education, Slovenia, playing a key role in shaping these national policies.

Hristo Petrov is a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2024, representing the centrist, pro-European group Renew Europe. He holds the position of Vice-Chair of the Committee on Culture and Education and is a Member of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs. He also participates in delegations for relations with North Macedonia and with Japan.

Aristea Politi works as a policy assistant at the European Commission on education and skills policies, with a focus on adult learning and upskilling and reskilling initiatives. Her work covers areas such as Individual Learning Accounts (ILAs), EPALE, and the network of National Coordinators for Adult Learning.

She works on career guidance at EU level and represents the European Commission in the Inter-Agency Working Group on Career Guidance.

Margit Rammo has worked in the field of lifelong guidance since 1998, when she was appointed to establish the Estonian Resource Centre for Guidance. She holds a Master of Arts in Social Sciences with a specialisation in educational management, focusing on fostering innovation within educational institutions.

Throughout her career, she has been actively involved in international cooperation on guidance with numerous European Union institutions (including the European Commission, Cedefop, and the European Training Foundation) and European networks such as the European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network, CareersNet, Academia, and the Network for Innovation in Career Guidance and Counselling in Europe. Her engagement extends beyond Europe as well, including collaboration with the International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy, and the International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance.

Diana Reiners, PhD, is the Head of the Maison de l’Orientation in Luxembourg since 2025. The Guidance House is an interministerial service for Guidance addressed to all citizens, a responsible body for guidance in schools. After working as a Post-doc researcher on youth studies, migration and school- to- labour market transitions since 2009, she joined the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth’s VET department in the country in 2020 as Project coordinator and Head of unit for national and international projects. She has been ReferNet National representative, and Cedefop Apprenticeship expert for Luxembourg, and is currently Member of the Europass Advisory Board.

Daniel Reumiller has many years of experience as a teacher, lecturer, and programme director at various levels of the Swiss education system. Since 2012, he has been Director of the public career guidance centres in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland. Since 2016, he has been President of the Swiss Conference for Career Guidance, and in this role, he was also leading the development of a national strategy for vocational, study and career guidance for Switzerland in 2021. He serves as a national expert for Switzerland in Cedefop’s CareersNet. 

Franziska Rieder has been working in the Coordination Unit of Luxembourg’s Maison de l’orientation since 2018. The Unit coordinates and supports cooperation among public guidance services and facilitates access to lifelong guidance.

Her work focuses on careers education and guidance in secondary schools. She monitors and supports the development of school-level guidance strategies, contributes to practitioner training and the continuous development of the reference framework for guidance in schools. She has coordinated the development of concepts and services in this area.

Siham Saidi is a Senior Advisor European and International Affairs in the field of education, VET and skills at MEDEF/French Business Organisation.

Prior to joining MEDEF, Siham worked as a Notary for 5 years.

She holds a Master 2 degree in Civil, Commercial and Fiscal Law from Sorbonne University.

Andrea Simoncini is a researcher and public servant with extensive experience in labour market policies, education and training, and lifelong learning at national, European, and international levels. He holds a PhD in Education Sciences and a Master’s degree in Adult Education.

Anna Toni is a senior specialist in lifelong guidance, skills development and employment, and currently serves as the Head Secretary of the Finnish Lifelong Guidance Forum. She played a key role in the preparation of Finland’s National Lifelong Guidance Strategy in 2020 and its update in 2023, followed by an intensive EU‑funded implementation phase. As the national context shifts toward more systematic monitoring and evaluation, her work in this respect focuses on strengthening long‑term governance and impact under increasing financial constraints in Finland.

Fotini Vlachaki is a Career Guidance and Social Inclusion Expert. She studied Philosophy, Pedagogics, and Psychology, specializing in the latter. She holds a Master’s Diploma in Counseling and Vocational Guidance and is a PhD candidate at the Department of Psychology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. With over 25 years of experience in both public and private sectors, she has contributed to guidance policy development through public administration roles in the Ministries of Education, Labour, and Social Cohesion. Her work focuses on strengthening practitioners’ competences and developing practices, services and tools across education, VET, and social inclusion sectors. She serves as CareersNet national independent core expert for Greece.

Jan Woldendorp is a lecturer, trainer and researcher at the School of Human Resources Management and Applied Psychology at Saxion University of Applied Sciences in Deventer, The Netherlands. His main areas of interest and expertise lie in the field of Career Guidance and Development, Labor Market Development, Supported Employment/Jobcoaching, Inclusive HRM and Casemanagement.