Selling the social purpose and the difference the insurance industry makes to everyone’s lives to apprentices should be an easy task, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has said.
ABI president and group CEO of Royal London Barry O’Dwyer (pictured) told delegates at the ABI annual conference that apprentices at Royal London have been giving reasons why they took a place at the mutual.
O’Dwyer revealed the feedback was “humbling” to read and spoke to the purpose of the insurance industry.
“It’s relevant to every family in Britain. And it’s not just that it’s relevant, they know how important it is to the future security of their parents and grandparents and of themselves,” O’Dwyer said.
O’Dwyer continued: “I would argue that young people want to work in an industry that has a social purpose where they can make a difference.
“It’s very, very easy for our industry to show that and to show people how they can make a difference in their lives in pursuing a career in insurance.”
Fellow panellist Trevor Jones, partner and head of insurance at KPMG in the UK, added the firm has run an apprenticeship scheme for a number of years which is always “massively oversubscribed”.
Elaborating on the benefits of working in the sector, Jones said: “When you think about it, you work with lots of like minded people.
“You get the opportunity to go and poke your nose into lots of different companies and lots of different things. You learn how to use different technologies, you get exposed to lots of different stuff.
“So actually it’s about telling everybody about what we actually do and helping them see that it can be fun.”