The London Market Group hopes to grow the UK’s valuable insurance industry and secure it for the next generation.
The London Market Group (LMG), the trade body for the specialist commercial (re)insurance industry in London, has released a report calling for drastic changes to the way apprenticeships are provided in the insurance sector.
The Investing In Our Future report was unveiled at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on Monday. It calls for important changes to the way the apprenticeship levy works, aiming to create more apprenticeships and make it easier for companies to use their unused levy funds.
The insurance sector is not particularly known for its apprenticeship provision, unlike more traditional apprentice pathways like construction and engineering. To tackle this, over the last few months, LMG has been working with businesses in the London insurance market to understand the problems they face with the current levy system. These discussions led to recommendations for improvements that could help companies unlock unused funds and hire more apprentices.
Caroline Wagstaff, CEO of LMG, explained that making the insurance industry an appealing career option for young people, especially those just leaving school, is a top priority. She said:
“Making specialty insurance a destination career for school leavers is central to the activity of the LMG. In the conversations we have had with market firms, around our Futures Academy and Apprenticeship Discovery programmes, we have heard about the significant challenges that they face in accessing levy funding, with some companies eve