InVEST Participates in National Job Shadow Day

 

Financial literacy program encourages industry job shadowing on Groundhog Day and every day.

InVEST, the insurance industry’s premier classroom to career education program, is actively supporting efforts across the country for members of the independent agency system to participate in National Job Shadow Day. Numerous InVEST students, agents, brokers, company leaders and other industry leaders are participating today.

“InVEST is proud to maximize opportunities like National Job Shadow Day and bring students and professionals together,” says Heather Minkler, InVEST board chair and CEO of Clark-Mortenson Agency, an independent agency in Keene, N.H. “An important initiative for our board this year is to encourage more agencies and carriers to host job shadow days and this effort is a great start to what we’re confident will be a successful year.”

Job shadowing provides students with first-hand experience as to what it is like to work in the industry and understand the wide variety of positions available in insurance. Numerous organizations are conducting job shadowing days and field trips today.

“Quite often, students view an industry only by what they see on the surface, for insurance that is sales and claim personnel,” says Neal Montgomery, InVEST Board member and Travelers director of field management. “This event provides students with a look at product development, risk control and forensics, underwriting, finance and accounting, compliance and regulatory areas, market research, information technology, as well as college recruiting and event planning. Students are exposed to a variety of areas of insurance from large national accounts and home owners insurance.”

InVEST provides professionals and teachers with a job shadow guide which provides step by step directions on how to implement a job shadow day complete with student release forms and media information. Click HERE for these and other resources.

“InVEST is critically important not just to the future of the independent agency system, but to the insurance industry as a whole,” says Robert Rusbuldt, Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) president & CEO. “The InVEST program is crucial in the effort to replenish our workforce for the coming years. The work InVEST is doing today will pay important dividends in the near future. The participation of educators, volunteers, agents and industry leaders, in efforts like the National Job Shadowing Day, are key to the success of this program.”

Founded in 1970 at Hollywood High School by the Independent Insurance Agents of Los Angeles, InVEST began educating students in insurance to become better insurance consumers. Over the years, it has expanded to also teach insurance agency and company operations and encourage students to pursue careers in the industry.

Now based in Alexandria, Va., InVEST promotes insurance education in order to attract individuals to pursue a career in the insurance industry. Each year, the program prepares thousands of students for insurance-related careers with a hands-on curriculum taught in high schools, adult education centers and community colleges. The high school curriculum is a business-education program that utilizes a hands-on approach which simulates an insurance agency and company operations to prepare students for various business careers and create more knowledgeable insurance consumers. At the college level, InVEST is an information-intensive curriculum of risk management and financial services. These courses provide students with a working knowledge of the basics needed to pursue careers in the insurance industry. For more information, go to www.investprogram.org.

Advocacy

Products & Services

Networking

Education