11th European Conference on Career Guidance and Counseling 2025

Theme: Career Counseling in the Age of Social Media
Friday, May 16, 2025 | 08:00 – 13:30 | University of Nicosia – Discovery Hall

The 11th European Conference on Career Guidance and Counseling was successfully held on Friday, May 16, 2025, at the Discovery Hall of the University of Nicosia, under the theme: “Career Counseling in the Age of Social Media.”

The conference was organized through the collaboration of the Career and Counseling Service of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth, the Department of Labor of the Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance, the Euroguidance Cyprus Network, and the University of Nicosia, and was held under the auspices of the National Lifelong Guidance Authority.

Opening addresses were delivered by:

• Dr. Irini Paraskeva Rodosthenous, Head of the Counseling and Career Education Service (CCES)
• Dr. Nikos Kartakoullis, Professor and President of the Council of the University of Nicosia
• Mr. Yiannis Panayiotou, Minister of Labor and Social Insurance
• Dr. Athena Michaelidou, Minister of Education, Sport and Youth

This year’s conference focused on how social media is reshaping career guidance practices, presenting both challenges and opportunities. Key presentations included:

• The use of platforms such as LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, OpenAI, and DeepSeek in career orientation, by Popi Aristeidou, Lecturer, Department of Design & Multimedia, University of Nicosia
• The rise of social media in career guidance, by Dr. Jaana Kettunen, Professor at the Finnish Institute for Educational Research, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland
• Labor market data in Cyprus and job vacancy promotion through social media, presented by representatives of the Cyprus Statistical Service

The event was attended by career counselors and educators from public and private secondary education institutions, both general and technical/vocational, who actively participated in discussions and workshops.

The conference highlighted the increasing integration of digital platforms and social media tools into the career counseling field and provided valuable insight into the future of the profession in the digital era.

Also present at the brunch were the students of the Culinary Arts programs at Intercollege, who, in collaboration with the team of The Block Restaurant, prepared the food that was served to the guests.