Insurance bosses take out cover for staffing

Dec 15 2007 by Iain Laing, The Journal

A NEW pilot programme aimed at insuring against a shrinking labour market in the insurance industry has been set up in the North-East.

Karen Weir, insurance broker and sector spokesperson, has helped set up the Apprenticeship in Insurance training programme following concerns about a skills shortage in her industry. A dramatic birth rate fall in the 1980s means significantly fewer young people will reach working age over the next few years, creating recruitment problems for employers.

So Karen, who runs Weir Insurance in Blyth and is deputy president and education secretary of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) for Newcastle, backed a move to attract new blood. The Apprenticeship in Insurance is a training programme approved by the CII and financially supported by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) North-East.

Karen said: “My aim is to encourage employers to engage with young people while they are at school and considering their career options. I also want them to take on young apprentices while also encouraging existing staff to improve skills and gain new qualifications. The insurance industry is booming and we are creating many jobs – therefore encouraging new blood into the industry is a subject that will remain at the top of our agenda.”

One of the first people to embark on the programme is Weir Insurance’s 20-year-old Rowan Edwards, from Blyth. He said: “Once I started this new training scheme I became more confident, knowing that I had somewhere to turn to if I had any questions.

“The problem I found with the job market is that employers are always looking for people with experience but no one is willing to provide it. This scheme offers both work experience and learning opportunities.”