Can recent high school grads help fill P&C industry ranks?

During the summer, between high school graduation and the start of his first semester at university, Carson Furneaux landed his first role in insurance. 

“I was just trying to make some money, see what opportunities there were, especially since I was heading into a business program at Rotman, at U of T,” said Furneaux. “I was speaking to a friend, and their aunt was looking for someone to work in the industry. So I connected with her, and that’s how I started out.” 

What started as a customer support role, liaising with policyholders at an international brokerage, turned into a career aspiration.

Now in his third year at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, Furneaux recently finished a summer internship term with a global insurer — his third industry role — and is president of the Rotman Commerce Insurance Association. 

“I’ve really dived into the industry, and I don’t really see myself leaving,” he says. “I know I want to stay in insurance.” 

Behind only the retail sector, the American Opportunity Index finds insurance and financial services are among the best places for recent high school graduates to advance their careers upon entering the workforce. And this especially true for those without post-secondary schooling. 

That was the case for Thomas Wright, Avail Insurance’s vice president of broking and market relations. Like Furneaux, Wright entered the industry after graduating high school, doing door-to-door sales for a life insurance company. 

But instead of heading to university the following year, he stuck around — although not in life insurance.

He’d earned his life insurance license, but after six months of selling policies and making “hundreds of cold calls,” he was hired at a P&C brokerage at the recommendation of his first mentor, who was the broker for a national baked goods manufacturer where his mom worked. 

He earned his P&C license while working at Tredd Insurance Brokers (now Westland Insurance) before moving to Avail this past January. He’s also the president of Young Insurance Professionals of Toronto.  

Taking off the training wheels 

For Wright, university wasn’t really part of the plan. “In school, I was good academically, I was involved, but I just really wanted to get working,” he says.  

That sentiment might ring true for many Canadian high-school grads.  

According to recent Statistics Canada data, 315,474 people graduated from secondary schools nationally in 2022. And three-quarters of young Canadians will attain a post-secondary qualification. 

For the 25% don’t pursue further education immediately after high school, deciding what path to follow will shape their future career prospects.

With the P&C industry seeing large scale retirements of experienced workers (22% of the current workforce will be eligible to retire by 2026, and 8.5% have plans to retire by that time, according to demographic research by the Insurance Institute of Canada), insurance could be a good option. 

“We’re trying to encourage the mutuals to think about succession planning,” says Sangita Kamble, president and CEO of Canadian Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. “Knowing that your top-level is close to the retirement age, you have to make sure there’s potential for other people to move up.” 

iStock.com/designer491

So the time to create a launchpad for the next generation is now.  

“[Say] you have these people that you’ve hired that are maybe a bit younger, straight out of school,” says Carolyn Seward, manager of Insurance Career Connections at the Insurance Institute of Canada. “You need to help them get those competencies and [develop] skills.” 

For Seward, getting the younger generation interested in the industry means giving them the literacy to understand it in the first place. “The only people who know about [insurance] are the ones who have a parent, an aunt, an uncle, something like that, who have worked in insurance,” she says of her experience doing outreach in high schools.  

In essence, the industry can no longer rely on people ‘falling into’ it. Proactive recruitment is needed. 

Kamble says CAMIC frequently hosts career fair booths at universities, but not yet at high schools. “That’s probably something we’d like to do in the future. [It’s]probably a little more difficult, considering how many high schools there are in the country.” 

The golden traits 

While recent graduates likely won’t have insurance or corporate experience, they may possess needed soft skills. And a willingness to learn tops many recruiters’ short list.  

“That first step is asking the question and being curious,” says Furneaux. “But then, what are you doing with that once you’ve asked that question? Are you following up? Are you reading policy documents? Are you talking to your manager about additional work that you can do?” 

Certain types of work experience are also easily transferable to insurance.  

“If you’re a high school student and you’ve had a retail job, or you worked at Tim Hortons or something like that where you’re interacting with customers, that is a really good skill set to highlight on your resume and show to employers,” Seward says.  

However, many P&C industry roles require additional licensing outside of secondary or post-secondary education. And there’s no shortage certificate programs like the CIP, CAIB, RIMS-CRMP, and others, that industry newbies can use to continue their educations. 

“Insurance has very industry-specific knowledge that can be learned on the job and through some of the educational or training opportunities that the industry [and] the Insurance Institute offers,” says Seward.

“By investing in those internal people, they’re more likely to stay with [your company] as well, so it will help your retention.” 

When he started at Tredd, Wright says his mentors nurtured his potential and encouraged questions.  

“People were really patient with me,” he says. “They sat me right outside of their offices, doors open, [and said] ‘eavesdrop on our phone calls; we’re telling you to do it. If you don’t understand something, just come in and ask us when the call is done.’ 

“Having those people around that are patient enough to pay attention and help, it’s how you help develop the future of the industry.” 

And that effort goes both ways.  

“[Connect] with people as soon as you can,” says Furneaux. “They’re happy to talk to you. They want to talk about what they’ve done. They want to be helpful and see you be successful in your career, especially if you show engagement and excitement about the industry that they’ve worked in their entire lives.” 

Feature image by iStock.com/skynesher