Kira Clarke is a Senior Research in the Social Policy and Research Centre at the Brotherhood of St Laurence. She has more than 18 years of experience in academic research and teaching in the Australian university sector. Until December 2019, she was a Lecturer in Education Policy within the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. As a national expert in vocational education and training policy, particularly as it relates to youth transitions and young people, Kira led the widely cited Entry to Vocations study of VET in Schools (2012–14) for NCVER. She completed two research studies (2014–15, 2015–17) funded through the competitive National Vocational Education and Training Research (NVETR) program and in partnership with the Brotherhood of St. Laurence, examining the role of the vocational education for early school leavers. Kira is the current president of the Australasian VET Research Association (AVETRA).