With only 20 places up for grabs, RSA’s Making Partner broker education program is one of the most sought after professional courses in Canada. This year’s Making Partner was the tenth edition and the program’s directors received more applications than ever before. They painstakingly assessed each and every application to ensure that the chosen participants were a true representation of Canada’s diverse insurance industry.
Designed specifically for high performing employees whose capacity to effectively lead has already been identified at their respective brokerages, Making Partner took place at Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business from May 8-13. But what did Making Partner’s attendees make of the six-day course?
“I was most impressed with the calibre of the attendees and the fact that there was a good selection of people from family businesses as well as large internationals; it was a great course,” says Brandon Hui, Vice President of Business Development at Park Georgia Insurance Agencies. “The program itself was top tier. In my opinion, the Queen’s School of Business is the best business school in Canada so they really brought us talent from the top table. We had a chance to pick their brains on very important topics relevant to our daily lives at our brokerages.”
General Manager at Cluett Insurance, Maureen Crowell, was also very impressed with Making Partner and thoroughly enjoyed the time she spent on the course. “I definitely think that I’ll be able to directly implement what I learnt at Making Partner into my day-to-day operations,” Cluett says. “The courses were of a very high standard and the professors were excellent.”
In addition to being impressed with the program’s content, Hui and Crowell were both extremely pleased with the overall organization. “From the very beginning of the application process to the welcome dinners and even picking us up from the airport, it was like a full concierge service,” Hui says. “That really helped to get us quickly integrated into the program. I don’t think I could say enough about the program and its coordination. I’m jealous of next year’s cohort!”
Hui is recommending his colleagues do whatever they can to secure a place on Making Partner 2017. “Executive education is a component that will make everyone more competitive, and people really need it just to stay in the game,” he says. “People have been applying for Making Partner for years, so it’s definitely a highly sought-after course. I don’t think there’s another program like this in Canada and it was a privilege to be accepted into the program.”
Crowell says: “For any broker who is serious about progressing their career, I would definitely recommend applying for next year’s Making Partner.”
