The Hon Brendan O'Connor MP is the Minister for Skills and Training, a Cabinet position in the Albanese Labor Government. A belief in the benefits of secure employment and quality education and training, as well as a commitment to fairness and equal opportunity, led Mr O’Connor to commence his career in a union. He represented the interests of Victorian workers before becoming Assistant National Secretary of the Australian Services Union (ASU). He was elected to parliament in 2001 and has since headed several portfolios. As Minister for Employment Participation, he overhauled the employment services system, streamlining the process to provide a personalised service called Job Services Australia. As Minister for Home Affairs, one of his many noteworthy achievements includes reforming Australia’s anti-dumping regime to encourage fairer and equitable business practices. Mr O’Connor went on to serve as Minister for Small Business at Cabinet level, the first time in over ten years that the portfolio had been elevated to such a level. Mr O’Connor worked to cut red tape and support growth and jobs through tax reform, including the $6500 Instant Asset Write-off to assist Australia's 2.7 million small businesses to improve their cash flows and the introduction of Australia’s first Small Business Commissioner. In 2013, Mr O’Connor was elevated to Minister for Immigration and Citizenship and finished the term as Minister for Employment, Skills and Training. From 2013 – 2019, Mr O’Connor was appointed Shadow Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations. In 2019, he was appointed Shadow Minister for Employment and Industry, Science, and Small and Family Business as a member of Anthony Albanese’s Labor frontbench team and served as Shadow Minister for Defence from January 2021 until Labor won the 2022 election. Mr O’Connor has degrees in Arts and Law from Monash University and completed Harvard University’s Trade Union Program

Lisa has led SVA’s Employment work for the last 3 years. This work aims to contribute to system change by generating new ideas and insights as well as improving the effectiveness of existing approaches. A key focus is on improving career paths for young people facing disadvantage by working in partnership with young people, employers and community organisations. The Employer Innovation Lab is the most recent example, assisting medium-large employers to design and implement practical initiatives within their organisations. Lisa has spent over 15 years as a practitioner, researcher and policy advocate in the area of ‘welfare to work’. For nearly ten years she worked in senior roles at a large national non-profit employment services provider, for three and a half years as its CEO. This included working with local community based organisations across the country to improve their capacity to support long term unemployed people into work. She has managed large scale programs for young people, for people with disabilities, ex-offenders and for those seeking apprenticeships. In 2018 she completed a PhD which examined the design and delivery of employment services in remote, predominantly First Nations, communities. 

Peta is the Director of the Australian Apprenticeships and Traineeships Information Service. In this role she manages delivery of the service to meet stakeholder needs from across the Australian Apprenticeships sector. She is involved in undertaking research projects and data analysis, and authoring reports and web content. Peta has previously worked as a researcher focusing on pathways through education and employment and has a PhD in Psychology. 

Jo is an Associate Professor of Human Resource Management at Deakin Business School and focuses on employment and skills and the workplace inclusion of under-leveraged talent. She has been awarded a number of grants in the UK and Australia, including most recently evaluating initiatives to foster sustainable employment pathways for Aboriginal communities. In 2023 she begins ARC Linkage and UK Research Council grants focused on employers, job quality and employment services. Jo is a Fellow of the Institute of Employability Professionals and co-chairs the UK Employment Related Services Association’s Employer Engagement Forum. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Chartered Academic Member of the Australian Human Resource Institute and Editor of the journal Work, Employment and Society.

Maretha has held a number of senior leadership roles in her native South Africa and New Zealand, including that of Chief Executive of a large member organisation where she effected significant transformational change across an entire sector.She has a strong background and appreciation of the challenges in diversity and inclusion, with experience in senior leadership roles in the disability sector, as well as delivering programmes to improve social cohesion through performing arts, education and training. She is passionate about her life purpose to create a more sustainable and equitable society through national conversations and creative initiatives.Maretha has a degree in Psychology from the University of Stellenbosch, a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is a Chartered Director of the Institute of Directors (South Africa). She is a Trustee and Chair of the Finance Committee of Belong Aotearoa, a specialist settlement agency that focuses on addressing the barriers to successful integration of newcomers in New Zealand.

Katherine joined the ConCOVE Tūhura as Executive Director in May 2022 after two years with the Construction Sector Accord at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.  Katherine led the People Development workstream and its five initiatives, including building a Construction Diversity Roadmap and skills strategy. Katherine has worked in and alongside the vocational education for 11 year, including working for two major industry training organisations before the Reform of Vocational Education.

Since 2018, Sébastien Monnet is the Science, Technology and Education Advisor at the Swiss Embassy in Canberra and a member of the Swissnex network, an initiative of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation.Prior to that, he held the position of Science and Technology Officer at the Embassy of Switzerland in Singapore (2015-2017) and the position of Deputy to the Director at Swissnex Singapore (2013-2015).Before joining the Swiss Confederation, Sébastien worked in banking for the Swiss Post and in digital media for Edipresse Group (now Tamedia). Sébastien holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Diplomacy and Internet Governance from the University of Malta / DiploFoundation, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor in Print and Digital Media Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland.

Erik Swars is Head of International Affairs at the Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training (SFUVET) since 2013. SFUVET is Switzerland’s expert organisation for VET and offers training to VET professionals, conducts VET research, contributes to the development of occupations and supports international cooperation in dual VET. His department implemented successfully more than 50 cooperation projects in skills development all over the world. Within the Swiss VET Academy he developed and implemented international training programs with focus on leadership, Swiss VET and pedagogy. In his role Erik works closely together with international organizations such as ILO or Global Apprenticeship Network GAN or as a UNESCOUNEVOC network member. Previously, he worked at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and at Swiss Post. He holds a degree in Economics from the University of Tübingen and an MBA from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Erik is author of several articles and publications, among others co-author of the book “Vocational and Professional Education and Training in Switzerland”, published in 2016 in English and 2021 in Chinese.