The insurance industry could be about to shed its "unsexy" image thanks to a scheme from a pioneering Dutch firm.
The scheme, from a Netherlands-based company called A Sure Talent, is seeking to boost the number of graduates entering the industry, using an approach that aims to counter its "unsexy" image.
A Sure Talent hires graduates and places them on assignments with at least four insurers during a two-year period. During the period the company gives graduates time off for them to sit exams with the CII.
Graduates are paid up to £20,000 a year, while the employers are charged fees.
Speaking to the FT.com company founder Cint Kortmann said: "Insurance does not have as sexy an image with graduates as banking or stock broking."
The industry has recently suffered from an unglamorous image, with some companies reluctant to spend on training.
Edward Snell of IPS recruitment group said: "Insurers are currently crying out for people in their late 20s and early 30s, with seven or eight years' experience. But there are not enough of those to go round, because in the last recession insurers stopped taking on graduates."
