Brokers have shown little interest in a formal degree qualification, despite educational requirements being top of mind for many in the financial services industry, an expert has said.
Brian Knight, CEO of education provider Kaplan Professional, said that his firm tests the market regularly on the need for a general insurance or broking degree and has seen “very little appetite or interest.”
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“The interest doesn’t seem to be there in insurance and insurance broking,” Knight told Insurance Business.
“What we are seeing is there is a focus on employing people with more generic qualifications such as bachelor of commerce, business or engineering. In insurance and insurance broking you have that general qualification and then we teach them the insurance, by way of courses, specialised courses and one-on-one training and coaching.”
With education in the financial services industry a hot button issue, Knight said that the general insurance and broking industry needs to take its educational requirements seriously or “risk slipping behind” other financial services professions.
Knight noted that brokers are focusing their education on soft skills including resilience, adaptability and leadership but needs to look more to formal education.
“From my perspective, the industry is recognising those as priorities but I don’t think they are potentially thinking enough about the future of the industry and needing to be more professional,” he said. “I think they should be embracing higher education.”
As an industry, general insurance has often relied on on-the-job training and mentoring and Knight stressed that this should still form an important part of the education of staff, particularly those in more junior roles. Knight said that in this area, general insurance and broking is leading the way, and he expects other industries to copy the broking mentor model as they recognise “the value… of having a mentor, someone who can teach you and supervise new entrants.”
However, Knight said that while mentorships are important, a balance needs to be struck with more formal education.
“Yes, [mentorships] is a great part but I think increasingly, the consumer and industry want to know that people have been learning and committing to improving themselves through formal study as well,” he said.
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