Euroguidance Cross Border Seminar recently held in Zagreb, Croatia

Authors: Mia Trcol and Meri Vesanović, Euroguidance Croatia 

Organised by the Euroguidance Centre Croatia, Zagreb hosted this year’s edition of the Euroguidance Cross Border Seminar. The international seminar, held from 3 to 5 June, brought together more than 70 European practitioners in the field of career guidance and counselling. The focus was on vocational education and training, aiming to enhance methods and exchange innovative solutions among European experts. 

This year’s Euroguidance Cross Border Seminar focused on the theme “Guidance in Vocational Education and Training (VET)”, addressing the specific context of vocational schools, where students have often already chosen a professional direction. The seminar highlighted effective guidance approaches tailored to the unique challenges and needs of VET students. It served as a dynamic platform for exploring current practices and trends, and for exchanging experiences among guidance professionals from 14 European countries which are Austria, Czechia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Ukraine and Croatia. 

Engaging and Interactive Programme 

The seminar programme featured insightful keynote speeches from Croatian experts, accompanied by a panel discussion with international participants, offering diverse perspectives on vocational guidance and training in VET. 

Alongside the plenary sessions, the seminar offered 16 diverse workshops covering a broad range of relevant topics. Participants explored themes such as encouraging girls to pursue careers in STEM, connecting young people with the labour market, delivering personalised career guidance, challenging gender stereotypes in career choices, developing soft skills through gamification and utilising interactive tools in counselling. These sessions provided rich opportunities for learning and professional exchange. 

We would like to warmly thank all participants for their active involvement, as well as the many international and national experts from the following institutions for their valuable contributions: 

• European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) 

• German Federal Employment Agency 

• Federation of Austrian Industries 

• Székesfehérvár Center of Vocational Training (Hungary) 

• Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb 

• Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences, Croatia 

• Ministry of Science, Education and Youth, Croatia 

• Agency for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Education, Croatia 

• Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts 

• University of Rijeka, Croatia 

• Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, Croatia 

• Ruđer Bošković Technical School, Croatia 

For those who couldn't attend 

All presented practices will be compiled into a seminar Compendium. Once all contributions are collected, it will be published and made freely available on www.cbs.ampeu.hr.