Zurich UK reports 68% rise in apprenticeship applications via social media

The number of applications for the Zurich UK apprenticeship scheme via social media has increased from 2,225 in 2024 to 3,745 in 2025 – an uplift of 68%.

This was according to Michelle Ransome, talent acquisition manager at Zurich UK, who told Insurance Times that there is “no denying” the volume increase in apprenticeship applications, which she believes is because her team have “focused” on promoting “apprenticeships through TikTok”.

Both of Zurich’s active TikTok accounts were set up in 2023 and are run by current and past graduates and apprentices. The accounts were originally created to showcase the working life of both apprentices and graduates from a perspective of someone early in their career.

Insurance Times’ 2026 Talent Development Report, published in association with Intact Insurance on 9 June 2026, revealed that 20% of UK firms across insurance use social media campaigns as one of top three channels to attract young talent.

While the social media accounts have enabled Zurich to reach a greater number of potential candidates, Ransome added that it has also supported the acquisition team in reaching minority groups, typically less likely to apply to enter the industry.

This is reflected in the insurer’s apprenticeship stats from 2025, which revealed that from those overall applications via social media, 1,249 applications were from ethnic minorities and 1,181 identified as women.

“If we look at our social mobility data and we look at our ethnic minority data, we can undeniably see an increase in attraction,” she continued.

“And that plays through throughout our process as well. What starts in the funnel comes out the other end in terms of percentages, which tells me that it’s doing its job because people that never would have considered a career in insurance are not only applying – but they are being successful.”

The opportunity for social media to attract diverse entry level talent has been noted in the insurer’s campaigns, which Ransome said are a great tool but have proven that acquisition teams are “constantly having to evolve” to target the level of experience in its talent the campaign is looking for.  

One such example was a talent attracting campaign in Croydon which, Ransome explained, used “all of its social media accounts, paid social attraction and TikTok following” to drum up interest.

She explained: “While it increased applications, they weren’t what we needed because it was a role that required experience.

“It was a real learning experience for us because there was probably something in the campaign collateral which wasn’t quite clear enough. But we generated loads of interest and as a brand raised our profile in that market.”

Accessibility attraction

Behind running the graduate TikTok account for the past three years is Felicity Irvine, legal indemnities underwriter at Zurich, who said that it has seen “steady and consistent growth” in followers and has “reached a wider audience”.

Speaking Insurance Times, Irvine explained that this growth has “paved the way for us to make a wider range of content including a video on corporate email tips which reached 21,000 views and another video on the topic of ‘when your colleagues become your friends’ which reached 171,000 views”.

She continued: “The TikTok algorithm has come to understand our niche quite well.

“The content seems to be pushed to people who are either already in insurance or are actively curious about the industry. It’s nice to know that this has become a recognisable and consistent social account within the insurance space, especially as there still aren’t many doing this kind of content.”

Irvine added that she recently found “two people message to say they’d applied for Zurich’s apprenticeship scheme after seeing my videos”, which had “made the industry feel more interesting and accessible”.

This was exactly the case for apprentices Beth Laker and George Sanders who both used the Zurich TikTok accounts to look for early career opportunities and get hints and tips into the application process.

Accessing the TikTok account following a job offer at Zurich, Laker said that the social media account enabled her to make that decision between other apprenticeship offers.

She explained: “I found out more through messaging them than necessarily scrolling through the videos.

“I liked talking to them through TikTok because where the format is videos, it feels like the people that you’re watching because it’s that chatty FaceTime-y content. It definitely felt easier to ask them a question versus whether it was an Instagram post where you’ve never really heard someone speak.”

Sanders added: “Reaching out to younger people like myself who left school last year straight into an apprenticeship, although LinkedIn is huge now, it’s an easier way to reach your target audience – to teach and show people what they can offer, what the different lines of business are or even educate younger people on insurance.

“Because I often see, like Zurich now, there’s apprentices that do a TikTok and a life of a grad page. They show so much about the company and how good [the firm] is [which is] what attracted me to the company and if other companies do the same, I feel like it’d be great for everyone.”