The
Chartered Insurance Institute’s (CII) latest
Skills Survey 2013reveals that 59% of firms overall are experiencing skills shortages this year – a drop of 14 percentage points on 2012 and the lowest figure since the survey began in 2007.
The CII said employers are predicting increased headcount and a willingness to up spending on training.
“In this respect our survey can be seen as an economic barometer predicting better weather ahead,” said Daniel Pedley, CII public affairs manager.
Conducted among 2,300 GI-focused CII members and employers,
the surveyreveals skills shortages have fallen by almost a quarter (24%) to 60% in claims, by 22% to 52% in underwriting and by 19% to 59% in broking.
Only the London Market saw a slight increase in skills shortages, with a four per cent rise to 68%, which is of concern because of the importance of skills to the global and competitive nature of the wholesale insurance market.
46% of
CIImembers believe that the UK education system is serving the needs of the insurance profession, a drop of six percentage points since 2011, with 47% calling its performance “poor”.
“It is worth noting that more than half of general insurance firms in this year’s CII survey still acknowledge having skills shortages,” said Pedley.
“And as the world economy begins to turn, are we prepared for any potential global squeeze on skills that arises?
“Clearly, getting the skills mix right is a moving target and being able to adapt to meet the challenges yet to come is something we must all be mindful of.”
The survey was conducted in association with Ageas.
Lyn Nicholls, HR director at Ageas, said:
“This latest Skills Survey from the CII gives us a valuable insight into the overall status of skills within the industry compared with equivalent sectors.
“With 91% of people working in a Chartered insurance business happy to recommend a career in insurance, we need to consider how we use this to attract students at the stage when they are contemplating their career options. It’s good to see that insurance is becoming a profession of choice, with more insurance companies now finding a balance between employing longer-term prospects for the future while also attracting established talent from within the industry.”
More than half of those polled (54%) said that because of skills shortages they predict they will need to spend more on recruitment and training.
78% reported their firm already had a skills development programme in place. Among Chartered firms, the figure rises to 90%.
49% say they will be looking for new staff in the coming 12 months.