Attracting the next generation of brokers

Our survey¹ of 250 brokers across the UK found that while they are keen to hire young talent, most are struggling to recruit those aged 30 and under.

In fact, 80% of the brokers surveyed said they want to hire young people principally to bring new ideas and skills and help with succession planning.

However, according to the Pew Research Centre only 4% of millennials are interested in working in insurance² and a recent Insurance Census revealed that the number of young people entering the market has dropped from 18% in 2015 to 10% in 2017.³

Brokers believe young people aren’t entering the market because there is a lack of understanding about what brokers do (27%) and some have a negative perception of brokers (18%).

Ollie Wilson, 25, of Arthur J. Gallagher Brokers commented: “The issue with broking is the lack of understanding, or the lack of knowledge about what brokers actually do.”

Brokers suggest due to this lack of understanding, firms struggle to attract young talent mainly because not enough young people are applying for available jobs (49%). But for the young people working in broking the feedback is positive.

46% of brokers are concerned about a talent shortage. The brokers surveyed suggested that in order to attract more young talent we should educate young people at school/college about the industry (33%).

Kirsty Wainwright-Noble, who won the Young Broker of the Year at the UK Broker Awards 2018, suggests it would be good to see industry bodies doing more with universities and colleges.

“When I left university with a marketing degree I was only aware of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Insurance industry bodies were not represented, as there is a limited number of degrees dedicated to insurance, so it is not an area you think about looking for a job. The industry bodies need to promote themselves and the opportunities available in broking.”

• Work out which universities you want to target
  At Ecclesiastical, we focus on universities within a 50-mile radius of our head office.
• Advertise on your local university websites
  Each site will provide you with the opportunity to promote jobs, some free to their students, through a portal login.presentation opportunities.
• Advertise on recruitment sites and LinkedIn
  By simply adding the keyword ‘graduate’ to the job title you will generate more traffic as this will be the first keyword search all graduates will look for.

¹ FWD research of 250 brokers, Young Broker Talent Survey, July 2018

² Millennials Generation Report 2017 by Pew Research Centre

³ Insurance Census 2017 by Post Online and CII

FWD research of 250 brokers, Young Broker Talent Survey, July 2018