Speakers 

Tomáš Šprlák works in the field of career guidance with a focus on developing practical tools and programmes for different groups. He has experience from public employment services in Slovakia and from managing guidance services for adults in France. He has also contributed to quality assurance of guidance provision at European level.

Currently, he is involved in the Exploring Green Guidance Erasmus+ project and is a board member of Lab Green Guidance, a francophone network of practitioners integrating sustainability into career guidance.

Dr. Jaana Kettunen is an internationally recognized Professor of Guidance and Vice-director at the Finnish Institute for Educational Research (FIER), at the University of Jyväskylä. She is the current President of the International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance (IAEVG). Her 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 in career guidance.

Dr. Kettunen’s influence extends well beyond academia, as she collaborates with international organizations, including the European Commission, Cedefop, the European Training Foundation, OECD, ILO, and UNESCO. Her work bridges research and practical application. In recognition of her outstanding contributions to the field, Dr Kettunen has received several prestigious honours, including the IAEVG-APCDA Academic Excellence Award and the NCDA International Practitioner Award.
https://ktl.jyu.fi/en/staff/kettunen-jaana

Dace Briede-Zālīte is an experienced career education and career development professional and Chair of the Latvian Career Development Support Association (LKAAA). She serves as Director of Training and Productivity at Tet, Latvia’s leading telecommunications and technology company. With more than twenty years of experience, her work focuses on career guidance practices, practitioner training, inclusive education, youth employability, and leadership development, Her work effectively bridges corporate practice, education, and social responsibility, promoting the view that career is not only about employment but about realizing one’s potential through lifelong growth and meaningful contribution.

Dace holds a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (UK) Level 7 qualification in Human Resource Management (2024) from the University of Westminster, further strengthening her expertise in strategic people development and organizational learning and is a licensed international “Goal Mapping” trainer. Her influence extends beyond the organizational and national level through her participation in the IAEVG as national correspondent for Latvia and contributions to the 2023 NICE Academy in Liepāja. In recognition of her contribution to advancing career guidance and personal development in Latvia, Dace Briede-Zālīte has been honoured with the National Career Guidance Award in 2020.

Ilze Astrīda Jansone, MS Ed. with Qualification in Career Counselling 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 was elected Co-chair of the Euroguidance network Steering Group for the period of June 2022-May 2025 and is currently serving as Steering Group Chair. She has also been elected twice as a board member of IAEVG since 2019, holding the post of Treasurer since 2021.

I.A. Jansone’s work fosters identification and sharing of good practices in the guidance field, national and international peer learning, policy analysis, and support to guidance system development. In the context of the Euroguidance network, she focuses on European and international cooperation in capacity building of career development practitioners and policy makers.

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. 

In September 2025, he has joined the CareersNet of Cedefop as a national expert for The Netherlands. He has been active in the NICE Academic Network for Innovation in Career guidance and counseling in Europe since its start and joined the board of the NICE Foundation in 2023.

Cynthia Harrison (Villalba) coordinates work on the guidance project strand at Cedefop including the coordination of the independent expert network CareersNet. Her background includes work and academic studies related to career aspirations and civic competence, sociology, and comparative and international education at various organizations. 

She is part of the VET supporting policy area team, Department for VET and Skills. The team includes experts in validation of informal and non-formal learning, financing VET/adult learning and statistics.