The UK insurance and long-term savings industry has announced its intention to double the number of apprenticeships on offer over the next three years, bringing numbers to 2,500 by the year 2025.

There are currently approximately 1,200 apprentices in the sector, working in insurance-specific programmes, as well as wider business schemes.

President of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) Barry O’Dwyer commented on the news, explaining that there are all sorts of far-reaching benefits associated with making the sector more inclusive and accessible, including supporting more jobs around the country and better serving customers.

Over the coming three years, the pledge intends to drive more career opportunities around the UK, focusing on areas outside London (where two-thirds of industry jobs can be found) in recognition of the role the setor has to support economic growth.

In addition, it aims to support socio-economic diversity at entry level to help encourage interest from school leavers and others who may not have considered a career path in the industry.

And it also intends to increase access and inclusion, with more training opportunities available, allowing those in the sector to flourish and thrive, no matter their background or where they are in their careers.

Making further comments, ABI director-general Hannah Gurga said: “As one of the largest industries in the UK, employing 320,000 people, we have an important role to play in supporting and developing people’s careers throughout the country.

“Doubling the number of apprenticeships is an important step in our continued efforts to boost diversity and inclusion across the sector, to provide career opportunities at all levels and to ensure our workforce reflects the communities we serve.”

For employees, there are all sorts of benefits associated with apprenticeships, everything from upskilling and gaining new qualifications to earning while learning, CV enhancement and making good career progress.

There are also a raft of benefits for employers, as well, whether you decide to hire a new member of staff or upskill an existing employee. Apprentices can also be employed at different levels, everything from school leavers and graduates to people who want to take their career in a completely different direction.

Benefits include expanding and upskilling the workforce, improving productivity and business efficiency, and improving product and service quality and standards.

There is now huge scope for apprenticeships, covering a wide range of different courses and different sectors, ranging from insurance and accountancy to healthcare, law, media production – and other traditional crafts and more manual professions.

And there is a lot of choice where training providers are concerned and employers have their pick of the bunch from colleges and higher education establishments to independent providers able to design bespoke courses to really tailor the apprenticeship to the needs of employers and the individual.

Looking for apprenticeship levy providers? Get in touch with Encompass today.