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

In the summer break 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, here 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 his career field aspiration.

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

“I feel like 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, for sure.” 

The American Opportunity Index found, trailing only behind the retail sector, insurance and financial services are among the best places for recent high school graduates to advance their careers upon entering the workforce, specifically without post-secondary schooling. 

For Thomas Wright, Avail Insurance’s vice president of broking and market relations, this was certainly the case. 

Like Furneaux, Wright also entered the insurance industry after graduating from high school, doing door-to-door sales for a life insurance company. 

But instead of heading to university the following year, he stuck around.

Well, not in life insurance. “I went there and in the group interview, they go, ‘Look, this is not a pyramid scheme or anything,’” he said. “I thought, ‘You know what, maybe this is my opportunity here. I might as well try it.’ Needless to say, it was horrible.” 

Wright 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, Ron, 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 was never really part of the plan.  

“I applied to all the universities that I thought I wanted to go to, but I knew, really, that I didn’t have an interest in it,” he said. “In school, I was good academically, I was involved, but I just really wanted to get working.” 

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

According to the latest Statistics Canada data, 315,474 people graduated from secondary schools nationally in 2022. And ultimately, three-quarters (75%) of young Canadians will attain a post-secondary qualification. 

For the quarter who opt not to pursue further education immediately after high school, deciding where to work and what path to follow can significantly shape their future career prospects. 

Plus, the industry’s now seeing an exodus of experienced workers leaving for retirement. (A full 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.) 

However, Gen Z’s made up 17.5% of the Canadian workforce in 2021, and this number will only continue to rise, according to StatsCan.

“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.” 

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

“[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. “Now you need to help them get those competencies and skills to develop.” 

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. That’ll require proactive recruitment. 

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

 

The golden traits 

A high school graduate entering the workforce might not have much insurance or corporate experience, but there are soft skills insurance companies might look for. And a willingness to learn tops the 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, for many roles, the insurance industry requires additional licensing outside of secondary or post-secondary education. 

Plus, there’s no shortage of certificates, with their associated acronyms—like CIP, CAIB, RIMS-CRMP, to name a few—that industry newbies can use to continue their education. 

“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 you as well, so it will help your retention.” 

That’s not to say it’s not an inherently learnable industry, even for those fresh out of high school.  

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

“People were really patient with me,” he says. “They had sat me right outside of their office, 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