When will our high schools and universities start educating the general public about the ins and outs of insurance? Most people outside the industry have less than one hour’s training in insurance. It is no wonder that attorneys are frequently hired to protect the individual and no surprise that we have such a poor reputation with the general public.
With all of the industry articles published as of late recognizing that there is a dwindling pool of talent to draw on, the insurance industry needs to be proactive in portraying our business to be a challenging and exciting place to work for both high school and college level graduates. We need to follow the lead that the U.K. has established in order to fill positions that will be vacated by retiring baby-boomers within the next 10 years, with qualified candidates that have both excellent management and insurance skills. Whether this learning takes place in a traditional classroom setting, on-line, or a combination of both, it is essential to the long term growth and profitability of the industry.
Martin has an interesting point – except it’s surely up to us as an industry to get the message across to the public, young and old. I don’t see many schools teaching the finer points of investment banking, and yet they seem to find the talent they need… Maybe we don’t believe we have an encouraging story to tell…
I constantly see talented graduates/A-Level leavers being ignored for unenthusiastic individuals with two years+ experience. Insurance/reinsurance is a specialist area but for the eager talented ones they will learn at a far accelerated rate. Employers can be lazy.
This does not happen in banking. Investment banks constantly hold seminars and events at top universities seeking the best. Insurance businesses need to increase graduate intake and get the message across to final year students. They also need to push A-level trainees to complete the ACII.
All the younger industry employees I have spoken to had limited knowledge of Lloyds/global insurance before securing the job.
Get the message across to attract talent.
The step to turn the ACII into a relevant MBA is a very good move but will simply mean more work for the already dedicated few. To really secure the best the ACII should promote the industry to universities. Insurance should not be a second choice for grads failing banking interviews or unfocused graduates that stumble into the job after temp work. It offers a far better career…..hmmm… but then again maybe that’s why we all stay quiet?
When will our high schools and universities start educating the general public about the ins and outs of insurance? Most people outside the industry have less than one hour’s training in insurance. It is no wonder that attorneys are frequently hired to protect the individual and no surprise that we have such a poor reputation with the general public.
With all of the industry articles published as of late recognizing that there is a dwindling pool of talent to draw on, the insurance industry needs to be proactive in portraying our business to be a challenging and exciting place to work for both high school and college level graduates. We need to follow the lead that the U.K. has established in order to fill positions that will be vacated by retiring baby-boomers within the next 10 years, with qualified candidates that have both excellent management and insurance skills. Whether this learning takes place in a traditional classroom setting, on-line, or a combination of both, it is essential to the long term growth and profitability of the industry.
Martin has an interesting point – except it’s surely up to us as an industry to get the message across to the public, young and old. I don’t see many schools teaching the finer points of investment banking, and yet they seem to find the talent they need… Maybe we don’t believe we have an encouraging story to tell…
I constantly see talented graduates/A-Level leavers being ignored for unenthusiastic individuals with two years+ experience. Insurance/reinsurance is a specialist area but for the eager talented ones they will learn at a far accelerated rate. Employers can be lazy.
This does not happen in banking. Investment banks constantly hold seminars and events at top universities seeking the best. Insurance businesses need to increase graduate intake and get the message across to final year students. They also need to push A-level trainees to complete the ACII.
All the younger industry employees I have spoken to had limited knowledge of Lloyds/global insurance before securing the job.
Get the message across to attract talent.
The step to turn the ACII into a relevant MBA is a very good move but will simply mean more work for the already dedicated few. To really secure the best the ACII should promote the industry to universities. Insurance should not be a second choice for grads failing banking interviews or unfocused graduates that stumble into the job after temp work. It offers a far better career…..hmmm… but then again maybe that’s why we all stay quiet?