The National Insurance Commission (NIC) has launched the training of the first batch of 10,000 Ghanaian youth as Insurance Sales Agents.

This is in line with the Insurance Regulator’s bid to create job opportunities for the unemployed youth and also to increase the insurance penetration rate through a solid manpower development for the industry.

Speaking at the launch of the programme this week, the Commissioner of Insurance, Mr Justice Yaw Ofori was confident that “an Insurance Agent who is equipped with business ethics and market knowledge will sell right, resulting in an increase in public trust which will lead to the growth of the industry”.

The training, which would be provided by the Ghana Insurance College (GIC) is fully sponsored by the NIC.

The training of 10,000 youth as Insurance Sales Agents is not only an agendum for job creation which will ultimately lead to an increase in the insurance penetration rate which is currently under 2% but also to bring insurance to the doorsteps of people in a more professional manner.

The Director of the GIC, Mr Richard Okyere on his part stated that the Certificates in Agency Practice that would be awarded at the end of the 5-day training will “open infinite doors and opportunities’’ and admonished all the pioneer participants and prospective ones to take the training seriously.

Mr Richard Okyere, Director of the GIC

This important exercise comes on the heels of an earlier capacity building training programme organised for existing Insurance Sales Agents of all Insurance Companies across the country which has a similar objective of equipping them to engage the insuring public in a more professional and ethical manner - a distinctive training module that integrates practice and ethics of the insurance trade.

The 5-day free training programme is targeted at tertiary and Senior High School graduates who wish to develop a career in the insurance profession.

Certificates will be awarded upon completion of the professional training programme. Registration is still on-going and prospective candidates in any discipline are encouraged to apply via the Commission’s website.

It would be recalled that in his remarks at the 12^th Graduation Ceremony of the Ghana Insurance College, the Commissioner of Insurance, Mr Justice Yaw Ofori reiterated the fact that a vibrant insurance industry depended largely on the development of its human capital needs hence the role of the GIC as a stop gap in this regard.

Mr Justice Ofori, the Commissioner of Insurance

It is worthy to note that the insurance industry presents the youth with enormous employment opportunities. However, the lack of requisite technical and professional knowledge is often a hindrance to the youth accessing these opportunities.

This has, therefore, informed the decision by the NIC to open its doors to the youth by first providing them with the requisite professional skills to serve as ambassadors of insurance companies from which they can make a decent living for themselves.

The GIC is the country’s premier professional training institution for insurance professionals and has since its establishment in 2006 produced close to 300 Chartered Insurers (Associates) under the UK-based Chartered Insurance Institute (CII-UK) apart from providing training in other refresher and certificate courses that seek to improve the skills of practitioners in all areas of the industry and beyond.

With its principal stakeholders being the NIC, the Ghana Insurers Association (GIA), the Ghana Insurance Brokers Association (GIBA) and the Chartered Insurance Institute, Ghana (CIIG), the GIC has a mission ‘to train, develop and mentor insurance professionals to excel in the practice of insurance profession’.