Training is vitally important in the workplace. Did you know that 74% of Millennial and Gen Z employees are likely to quit within the next year, due to a lack of skills development opportunities? *

As the demands on insurance professionals evolve and new challenges emerge, the need for a skilled and knowledgeable workforce becomes increasingly important.

It’s a crucial element of life here at Bridge Insurance Brokers. Insurance is a complex and multifaceted profession, with an increasing range of demands as new technologies and issues evolve. It’s vital to have a well-skilled and knowledgeable team.

Some insurance brokers have no structure in terms of qualifications and offer no incentives or support to people looking to pursue them. In a busy and demanding job, it can be hard to have the energy to do the additional training in your own time. And why should you?

Good training means that we have some of the best people here at Bridge. That benefits our clients, and naturally benefits us. You could say It’s a no-brainer.

So how does Bridge provide training?

We have the Bridge Academy – it was set up with the aim of developing our existing talent and future proofing our new talent.  There are several ways we do this.

Every month I send everyone a list of all the CPD events across the Manchester area. There’s something for everybody and the teams can review and see what training they would like to progress. This can vary. For example, in the last week we have looked at technical product skills (both introductory and advanced levels) Excel skills and soft skills – all very bespoke as everyone has different needs.

Dip CII and Cert CII qualifications have proved very successful. The revision books are a little dry, so we’ve brought them to life and sourced quality external training providers to help.

We have a range of external training experts – one is Total Excellence Centres. David Mercer, Director, says: “We have collaborated closely with Judith and the team and together, developed a sales enablement programme (the Bridge) sales teams, to support them with the conversations they are having in difficult market conditions. Bridge has invested time and effort in relevant training for their employees, which is bringing people together and helping them develop with confidence.”

That confidence is key. As well as working with external providers, we are qualified internally in certain areas to train the team. I deliver the Cert CII workshops – it’s just the Dip CII where we use external providers. The teams have achieved CERT CII subjects and CERT CILA. The majority of the claims team now holds Cert CII, Cert CILA, BTEC Level 3 in Insurance Claims Handling and BDMA qualifications. Since I started, 88 insurance exams have been passed, 12 Cert CII completed, 6 Cert CILA, 2 Dip CII, line managers have done level 2 and 4 in leadership skills, and sales execs have taken part in sales and enablement programmes. We have also enjoyed compliance training. This is provided online, but we also roll out face-to-face workshops to bring it to life.

Not just insurance training.

For example, one colleague is completing a qualification in climate risk. Having well-rounded people, who are passionate about their interests and get clued up on global issues outside of work, can only make them even better in work. The qualification is CII Certificate in Climate Risk and is about understanding how the insurance industry is addressing the ever-changing climate and broader sustainability risks.

I’m on the CPD committee for the Insurance Institute of Manchester, so I attend monthly meetings and put on CPD events for the whole of the Manchester area. These mix up soft skills and technical skills and mean that I can keep up with current training, tech and issues and support the team at Bridge as best I can.

Soft skills is a real issue, especially for some of the younger generation who are more comfortable using tech. This year we sent our teammates out to the IIM Young Members’ Ball. We asked everyone who attended to invite someone from the insurance industry and the challenge we set them was to try and network. It doesn’t come naturally to everyone but it’s important to help people step outside their comfort zone now and then. The attendees had a great time and made lots of new connections.

It all comes back to employee wellbeing, so we hold regular wellbeing management meetings and have recently delivered mood food workshops and a sleep wellness workshop. We recently sent out a staff survey which included asking people what they want to focus on. I talk to departmental heads regularly to find out about training needs.

Training is more than just getting qualifications. It brings different teams together, helps everyone grow as people and ultimately means a closer, more confident workforce.  As business investments go, it’s top of the list.

* https://workplaceintelligence.com/upskilling-study/

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