South West insurance broker Higos, which has three dedicated people tasked with mentoring graduates, has added 10 college leavers to its roster as part of the company’s apprenticeship programme with Wiser Academy.
“Recent surveys have found that over 90% of brokerages across the UK have vacancies, but it’s no good sitting back and hoping young people will knock on your door asking for a job, as competition from other sectors for the best talent is intense,” said Higos chief executive Matt Hartigan.
“We decided to take a different approach, targeting college leavers and developing active relationships with local schools. Our programme has been a vital source of future talent for the business and enables Higos to develop the next generation of insurance talent in our region.”
Industry newcomers include Chey Welch (pictured leftmost with Jade Basta) and James Mansfield (pictured centre), who passed their Chartered Insurance Institute IF2 (General Insurance Business) in 2022.
“With Wiser Academy, we create a 15-month programme of professional and technical development for our apprentices which gives them the time and focus to achieve a qualification while they also develop into a full-time role within the business.
“We will continue to invest in our future talent in this way as a proven route to address the challenges of recruitment across the industry and the country as a whole.”
The Higos initiative is part of Wiser Academy’s broader “Rise Up” programme.
“We believe every local broking CEO should be adopting a similar path to Higos and become much more aggressive in recruiting young talent,” commented Wiser Academy chief executive Crescens George. “Those of us working in the industry understand that insurance is a fantastic career choice, but we need to be much smarter in the way we recruit.
“Wiser Academy aims to get a minimum of 200 young people in broking via the Rise Up programme in 2023, but we would really love to get to 500, as the industry desperately needs new blood, and we would love to talk to other brokers looking to give their recruitment a boost.”
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