MyPath: Engage the Next Generation

The risk management and insurance industry’s looming demographic challenge isn’t new or surprising, but it does bear repeating. There is a projected need for 70,000 new hires yearly, as boomers retire. Yet only about 14,000 individuals are graduating from risk management and insurance programs around the world annually, and there is steep competition for talent with what are viewed as more desirable career options in finance or technology. So, we’re in a tough spot. But there is a collaborative industry solution to this problem: "MyPath: Insurance. It’s Limitless." Not familiar with this initiative? It all started in 2011, when representatives from organizations spanning the industry approached the Institutes to ask if we would helm a collaborative initiative targeted at engaging millennials—that most coveted of generations that’s quickly becoming the largest population in the workplace—and getting them excited about careers in insurance. Reinforcing the difficulty of the effort, a survey of more than 1,600 millennials performed by the Griffith Insurance Education Foundation, an affiliate of the Institutes, showed that many find the industry boring, staid and unimaginative. With these insights in hand, the Institutes, in collaboration with the industry, set out to flip these misperceptions on their heads. MyPath was born. Launched in late 2014, the effort now has nearly 100 partners in organizations that range from some of the largest insurers in the country to family-owned niche companies, as well as academic partners vested in offering collegiate risk management and insurance programs. More than 300 internships have been listed on the website, and more than 1,000 individuals have opted to receive MyPath emails. The initiative has been featured in every insurance trade publication, as well as Bloomberg Businessweek and the Wall Street Journal. On social media, MyPath has racked up 4,000-plus Twitter followers and more than 2,000 Facebook-page likes. More than 600 internship candidates created profiles on the site within the first few months of its launch. It’s clear that, together with the industry, we’re making strides in the right direction, but more work lies ahead. Help spread the word about careers in insurance—become a partner today (at no cost) and share the news of MyPath.