Belinda Howard is a PhD researcher at Queensland University of Technology in the School of Education, where her qualitative, interpretive study investigates the existence and articulation of career development policy in Australian secondary schools. Her doctoral work examines how terminology, policy framing, and system design shape coherence, equity, and young people’s access to meaningful career development learning. She is affiliated with the QUT Centre for Inclusive Education and contributes to national conversations on career education reform through research, teaching, and sector engagement. Belinda teaches postgraduates career development theory, policy, and professional practice, drawing on both academic scholarship and extensive professional experience. She supports postgraduate students to build strong theoretical foundations, ethical practice capability, and reflective approaches aligned with national and international standards. She also coordinates the C4IE HDR Support Network, designing programs that strengthen research capability, academic communication, and community connection for emerging scholars. Before commencing her PhD, Belinda spent more than 15 years as an educator and leader across mainstream and alternative education settings. She led the creation of whole school frameworks to career education and development, with a strong focus on improving outcomes for disengaged learners. Her leadership work centred on building staff capability, strengthening transitions, and embedding data informed, equity focused approaches to student support. Belinda’s broader contributions include research assistance on inclusive education projects, presentations at national conferences, and ongoing writing through her blog Candidly Academic, where she blends reflexive commentary with insights from her research and professional practice. Across her work, she is committed to advancing coherent, equitable, and sustainable career development systems that support all young people to imagine and pursue meaningful futures.

Dr. Jaana Kettunen is a Professor of Guidance and Vice-director at the Finnish Institute for Educational Research (FIER), at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland and a Research Associate at Florida State University's Center for Career Research. She currently serves as President of the International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance (IAEVG). Dr. Kettunen´s research has a strong international orientation and revolves around career guidance practices, practitioner training, quality, strategic leadership and public policy development, with a special interest in the design and use of information and communication technology including AI in career guidance. Her work bridges research and practical application, and she has published in leading journals in the field. Widely recognized for her expertise, she has delivered invited lectures and keynotes across Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania, and has collaborated with UNESCO, OECD, ILO, and the European Commission. Dr. Kettunen’s influence extends well beyond academia, as she collaborates with international organizations, including the European Commission, OECD, ILO, and UNESCO. Her contributions have been recognized with international honours, including the NCDA International Practitioner of the Year Award and the IAEVG–APCDA Academic Excellence Award.

Dr. Olena Lytvynenko is a Ukrainian scholar and practitioner in the field of career guidance and counseling, with a particular focus on the development of career support systems within general secondary education. Until recently, Ukraine lacked a structured and institutionalised system of career guidance in schools, with counselling practices remaining fragmented and unsystematic. In response to this gap, Dr. Lytvynenko has been actively involved in advancing the field at both research and practical levels. Since 2023, she has been a participant in the international project “Developing Career Guidance and Counselling Education for Ukraine (CARE)”, supported by the Finnish National Agency for Education and implemented in cooperation with Häme University of Applied Sciences. The project aims to introduce career counsellor education into the Ukrainian system and to develop a competence framework and curriculum aligned with European practices . In 2024, Dr. Lytvynenko conducted a study examining the challenges of career choice among Ukrainian school students, with particular attention to the pre-institutional phase of career guidance development. Her research addresses the lack of systematic support for adolescents navigating educational and career pathways in a rapidly changing social and economic context. In 2025, she joined a national working group responsible for developing a standard curriculum for the training of career and educational counsellors for the school system. This work contributes to the broader reform of the New Ukrainian School, where the introduction of career guidance is seen as a key component of educational transformation . Since April 2026, Dr. Lytvynenko has been teaching within a pilot training programme for future career counsellors in general secondary education. Her work integrates research, curriculum development, and teaching practice, aiming to establish sustainable and context-sensitive models of career guidance in Ukraine. Her professional interests include early-stage (pre-institutional) development of career guidance systems, evidence-based practices in counselling, and the adaptation of European approaches to national educational contexts.

Josh Williams leads the Policy, Research, and Consulting team at Skills Group, one of New Zealand's largest Private Training Providers. Josh has spent his career working across secondary and tertiary education policy and the vocational education sector. He is a former Chief Executive of the Industry Training Federation of New Zealand and previously held the role of Senior Policy Manager in Tertiary Education Policy at the New Zealand Ministry of Education. His professional focus spans vocational education, workplace learning, apprenticeships, and the secondary-tertiary interface. He was the programme manager for the introduction of the Youth Guarantee suite of initiatives and led the development of the six Vocational Pathways launched in 2013. Josh is an experienced presenter on vocational education, apprenticeships, and skills policy. He has presented keynote speeches and seminars at events throughout New Zealand/Aotearoa as well as international events organised by the OECD, Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, The Apprentice Employment Network NSW & ACT Australia, Skills Development Scotland, Association of Polytechnics Indonesia, and the German Foreign Office.