Insurers have opportunity to entice Singapore graduates: Canopius

The insurance industry in Singapore is in a prime position to reshape how graduates perceive career opportunities within the sector, according to research commissioned by Canopius Group.

As industries across the board compete for top talent, the report, published October 4 and called “Listening to Tomorrow’s Leaders: Attracting and retaining young talent into insurance”, explores the career aspirations and motivations of recent university graduates in Singapore.

Focusing on the professional services sector including industries such as banking, finance, consulting and insurance, the survey examined factors influencing career choices, such as financial incentives, job stability, opportunities for growth, and work-life balance.

The research reveals that while insurance offers many of the career priorities graduates value, there is a clear opportunity to communicate these strengths more effectively to the next generation of professionals.

“Graduates place significant value on professional growth.”

According to the survey, graduates in Singapore prioritise tangible benefits when it comes to choosing their field of work. Salary and benefits are by far the most important factors influencing career choice (31 percent), with job stability coming in second place (17 percent), but only being about half as important.

Other factors such as work-life balance/flexible working arrangements (13 percent), sector or company culture (8 percent) or travel opportunities (7 percent) drive only a small proportion of career choice for new graduates.

The research revealed that graduates place significant value on professional growth, with 92 percent highlighting the importance of formal internal training, and 91 percent emphasising the need for professional development opportunities. This is followed by a company’s reputation (89 percent), mentorship programmes and on-the job learning, which are all equally valued (88 percent).

While salary, job stability and career advancement are areas where the insurance sector excels, misconceptions about the industry still hold it back from fully competing for talent with other seemingly more attractive sectors, such as finance and consulting.

When asked if they saw an attractive career path in insurance, over half of respondents (56 percent) said yes while 28 percent did not see it as appealing. Among those who do not view insurance as an attractive career option, top reasons include limited career growth opportunities (70 percent), lack of information about the industry (48 percent) and perception of the industry being boring or unexciting (36 percent).

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