Lloyd’s CEO and president of the Chartered Insurance Institute (
CII) Dame Inga Beale has warned that attracting a new generation of “technologically savvy professionals” is crucial to the success of the insurance industry.
Insurance’s workforce of the future needs to reflect the increasingly diverse and demanding group of customers across the world, Beale said while speaking at a CII briefing on apprenticeships yesterday.
The industry has a “unique opportunity” to attract new recruits and develop existing talent through the government’s apprenticeship levy – effectively a tax on all UK employers with an annual wage bill of more than £3 million to support the funding of apprenticeships.
But as an industry, insurance needs to cultivate a more modern image and convey the benefits it can offer in order to attract more young people, Beale warned.
“At its core, insurance should have this phenomenal appeal to millennials,” she said. “We’ve got all the attributes that they’re looking for, however, we do need to make sure that the environment that we encourage in all of our firms is seen as welcoming, dynamic, and exciting.
“We’ve got to think about what young people these days are exposed to in the world. We don’t want to put them off the moment they step inside an insurance environment and have them think – this isn’t what I want, this isn’t what I see in the modern world, this isn’t what excites me,” Beale went on to say.
The CII has been working with the government and employers to develop a package of support to help firms of all sizes in implementing their own apprenticeship schemes. The package includes practical guidance, CII accreditation for apprenticeship training providers, and a dedicated helpline in partnership with the National Apprenticeship Service.
CEO of the CII, Sian Fisher, said that apprenticeships are now an “integral part” of how insurance attracts, develops and retains talent.
She added: “We remain steadfastly committed to working with policymakers, to ensure the needs of all firms in our sector are taken into consideration. To make the best of the opportunity the levy provides, firms need to consider apprenticeships as part of their talent and wider business strategies, enabling businesses to future-proof their long-term success. We will continue to work with providers to support firms to achieve this and bring new talent to our profession.”
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