Until a few years ago, the path to a career seemed relatively straightforward. You studied, chose a profession, entered the job market and gradually worked your way forward.
Today, very little is that linear.
Roles are changing. New professions are emerging. Others are being transformed. Artificial intelligence is becoming part of everyday business, while employees are redefining what career, success and work-life balance actually mean.
This new reality takes centre stage at the Future of Work Stage – Work and Career Reimagined at INSPIRE 2026.
And one of the biggest changes concerns the relationship between employers and employees.
At Employers of Choice, Marios Antoniou of C.A. Papaellinas Emporiki, Evangelia Aspromalli of Zorbas Group and Maria Karantoni of KPMG Cyprus discuss what makes a company genuinely attractive today. Why are benefits alone no longer enough? How important are culture, trust, development and flexibility? And, perhaps most importantly for Cyprus, what will it take to retain talented people and encourage others to return?
My Dream Job looks at work from a completely different perspective. Film and TV director Andreas Sheittanis, actress Daphne Alexander and content creator Margarita Orlova open the door to careers many people dream about but few truly understand from the inside. They talk about creativity, rejection, persistence, personal branding and career paths that do not always follow the safest or most predictable route.
Then comes the big question: what jobs will exist tomorrow?
At Jobs and Skills of the Future, Dr Maria Charalampous, Savvas Socratous, Dr George Horattas, Dr Marinos Stavrou and Nadia Karayianni examine how Cyprus’ labour market could evolve over the next decade. Which roles are emerging? Which are being transformed? And which skills will continue to hold value regardless of how rapidly technology develops?
Of course, no conversation about the future of work can now take place without two letters: AI.
At AI: Working with Intelligence, George Malekkos, President of CITEA and CEO & Founder of Powersoft, and Andreas Kitsios, VP Marketing at the University of Nicosia, move beyond the hype to examine how artificial intelligence is already transforming workflows, decision-making, productivity and skills.
The question is no longer simply whether AI will replace jobs. It is how AI will transform the jobs that remain — and what the uniquely human advantage will be in this new reality.
And because no career has to follow a straight line, Pella Demetriades, Founder & CEO of Wayfitco, shares her own story in “From the Courtroom to the Start-up: Reinventing Success”: leaving behind an established professional path to build something new and, in the process, redefining success on her own terms.
That is ultimately what the Future of Work Stage is about.
Not trying to predict with certainty what job we will be doing ten years from now, but asking how we can prepare for a world in which change itself will be permanent.
Because the future of work is not coming. It has already begun. And perhaps the most important skill of all is learning how to change with it.
Location: Nicosia, Makarios Avenue and surrounding areas
Dates: Wednesday, 7 and Thursday, 8 October 2026
More information & Free Tickets: www.inspirecyprus.com
Information
Strategic Partner: Cyta Business
Platinum Sponsor: Bank of Cyprus
Innovation Partner: Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF)
Gold Sponsors: Cyfield, Zorbas Group
Silver Sponsor: Bioland, Petrolina
Stage Sponsors: National Bank of Greece (Cyprus), KPMG Cyprus, Invest Cyprus, Odyssey
Academic Partner: University of Nicosia
Sponsor: IMR, AnAD, Henry’s by Columbia
Panel Sponsor: allwyn
Technology Sponsor: Abasis.AI
Supporting organisations: KEPA-SkillsCyprus, National Betting Authority
Exhibitors: Drastyc, Emphasys Centre, GrantXpert, onlyseo, Photos Photiades Breweries – selection, Wolt, Nicosia Marathon, Giorgio Armani, Factorial
Supporters: CP Herbal Skin Care, MiMaJo, National Betting Authority, Robura, Voici La Mode, University of Limassol, Cloud Office
Mobility Partner: ChaPilakoutasGroup
Wellbeing Partner: Wayfitco
Sustainability Partner: EAC
With the support of: Cyprus Computer Society, CITEA, CPMA, Youth Board of Cyprus, OEB, KEBE, techisland, Student Life Academy
Media Sponsors: ALPHA Cyprus, CBN, IN Business, REPORTER, SuperFM
Organiser: IMH
Under the Auspices of: Nicosia Municipality
