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It began with 135 applications, 52 of them went through to the elimination rounds, and now the strongest 21 candidates will battle it out for a spot in the final 8, and the chance to become the 2017 Insurance Apprentice.
This year's elimination rounds were slightly different than previous years. In order to expand the reach of The Insurance Apprentice (TIA), elimination rounds were held in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg.
We would like to thank Lion of Africa, Norton Rose Fullbright and Auto & General for hosting the Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg elimination rounds respectively. We would also like to thank Price Forbes for being title sponsor of the elimination rounds, and for sending their CEO, Warren Bolttler, in conjunction with colleague Greg Dillon, to oversee the elimination rounds.
Getting into it
At the beginning of each round contestants got to know one another over coffee and pastries. From the get-go it was obvious from Warren's opening that every contestant would be taken out of their comfort zone in order to see what they are made of.
Contestants had to stand up and introduce themselves to other participants and the judges, followed by giving two interesting facts about themselves. It was immediately apparent that this year there was a massive variety of contestants, all different, and all up for the challenge. "I was very pleased to see the high level of competence in the applicants during elimination rounds. I am particularly pleased that the numbers of coastal applications have increased as we now have a cohort of highly competent candidates from across the country that will bring very different strategies to this competition" said Nadia Starr from Inseta.
Contestants were then divided into groups and were given a scenario concerning the insurance industry which they had to give solutions on. Natural leaders immediately took charge of the situation and every individual's contribution was assessed while teams were planning their presentations.
The diversity among contestants was once again made apparent with the way in which they presented their findings, ranging from a one on one meeting to a boardroom discussion. "The standard of the applicants is extremely high. There seem to be a more professional and business-like approach to this years' competition" said Jacques de Villiers, General Manager, West Regions of Aon South Africa (Pty) Ltd, who was a judge at all the elimination rounds.
A spanner in the works
Following a minor writing assignment, contestants were thrown their biggest curve ball of the day, where they randomly pulled a topic from a box and made a one minute speech about it. The task is designed to test a contestant's ability to think on their feet.
A tough decision
As the last of the three rounds came to an end, it became apparent that the judges had a truly difficult task ahead of them in selecting a top 21.
Rianet Whitehead, Editor of FAnews, said: "Finding the top eight is going to be a challenge as all of our 21 are unbelievably talented, this year is going to be extremely competitive."
Your vote counts
The top 21 have all submitted a one minute video to convince you to vote for them, the more votes they receive, the better their chances of making the final eight.
Videos can be viewed and voted on the TIA website, the link can also be found on Twitter, and Facebook, just look for The Insurance Apprentice and do not forget to tag #Insearchofthefinal8. If you would like to receive a newsletter simply sign up here. To view photos of the elimination round, visit Facebook and Twitter to get a taste of the competition.
The top eight will be revealed on the 14th November 2016.
Our sponsors
"I am extremely humbled and very grateful for the support we are receiving. The aim is clear - to attract young people to the industry and to make the industry a tad more exciting for those already in it...everyone in the industry has the same common goal and this initiative speaks directly to that. I hoped for the support, and I am just thankful that we are receiving it to such an amazing extent" said Whithead.
We would like to thank our sponsors for this year, Aon South Africa, Centriq Insurance, Chubb, CN&CO, Discovery Insure, FNB Insurance Brokers, The Financial Services Board (FSB), Global Choices, Hollard, Inseta, Insure Group, Marsh, Lloyds of London, Masifunde Training Centre (MTC), Norton Rose Fulbright, Price Forbes, PWV Insurance Brokers, Santam Insurance, Sasria, SHA Specialist Underwriters, The IISA and Tracker South Africa.
Kind regards,
Jason Dunn
FAnews Journalist
jason@fanews.co.za
+27 11 768 2299
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