Insurance sector drive to accelerate skills development
The non-life insurance industry continues to take meaningful steps to strengthen its future talent pipeline, as the third year of the Retiree Repurposing Programme (RRP) gets underway. This mentorship-driven initiative brings together seasoned industry veterans and emerging insurance professionals, creating a powerful platform for skills transfer, knowledge sharing, and leadership development. Backed by key industry bodies, the programme is gaining momentum, reflecting a collective commitment to addressing critical skills gaps and nurturing the next generation of insurance expertise. The following release has been issued by SAIA.
The non-life insurance industry this month commenced the third round of its Retiree Repurposing Programme (RRP), an initiative that brings together experienced retired professionals and young insurance managers to facilitate skills transfer and industry knowledge sharing.
The Retiree Repurposing Programme is a collaboration between the South African Insurance Association and the Insurance Sector Training Authority (INSETA) with ongoing support of the Board of SAIA, the Insurance Institute of South Africa (IISA) the Financial Intermediaries Association of Southern Africa (FIA) and the South African Underwriting Managers Association (SAUMA). This programme is a mentorship-driven acceleration initiative.
This year’s RRP is set to have 50 programme participants and 25 mentors each with decades of insurance experience. This is a noticeable scaling of the programme where the pilot had five mentors and 15 junior managers.
The non-life insurance industry continues to face significant skill gaps in specialist lines of business such as marine, engineering, agricultural crop insurance, reinsurance and general technical insurance business lines.
The RRP aims to bridge these gaps by connecting junior and mid-level managerswith seasoned industry veterans who can provide mentorship, technical expertise, and leadership guidance.
Says Kabelo Paile, Insurance Risks Manager at SAIA: “The RRP is designed to create a practical, outcomes-based development journey that benefits both mentors and programme participants. The RRP is aimed to benefit insurance professionals in early or middle stages of their careers and to help position themselves for advancement into senior management or more specialised aspects of insurance.”
The programme provides participants with technical skills transfer and a structured pathway to repurpose experience into new or evolving roles, build confidence, and strengthen professional relevance in a changing environment.
Paile says mentors who have volunteered to support the RRP are able to make a meaningful leadership contribution and the opportunity to shape talent while remaining engaged in purpose-driven development.
“In the process, the non-life insurance industry is expanding the pool of experienced and expert capabilities, enhanced professional networks and enabling sustainable knowledge transfer across generations and career stages.
“Building on the success and learnings from the first two RRPs, the programme represents a continuing training intervention built around relationship-based development, supported by credible partners, transparent governance and an enabling digital platform,” says Paile.
The programme is delivered on a specialised mentorship system called Together, a leading cloud-based enterprise mentoring application that pairs employees for professional development.
Deployment of the Together platform is supported by a broader ecosystem of learning solutions tailored to each mentee’s needs analysis. This includes:
- Soft skills training via UpSkillist;
- Leadership and management development (Pro-active Communications);
- Technical and role-specific skills support; and
- Additional learning pathways aligned with each individual’s development goals.
“Our goal is that every participant should complete the programme with measurable growth, enhanced practical capabilities and a stronger professional network,” says Paile.
Editor's Thoughts:
Programmes like the RRP highlight what makes this industry truly special—its willingness to collaborate, share, and invest in its people. The future of the industry isn’t just being planned—it’s being mentored, shared, and shaped in real time. Please comment below, interact with us on X at @fanews_online or email me your thoughts.
