STI’s leading innovators and trailblazers to share insights

The 25 young tech fundis in the ground-breaking IST Graduate Programme 2021 will have the opportunity to engage with not one – but four – prominent leaders and innovators within the Short-Term Insurance industry.

With nearly three decades of experience in the insurance and reinsurance industry and eNCA’s go-to financial services media analyst, Simon Colman, Business Head of Digital and Financial lines at SHA Risk Specialists within the specialist business unit at Santam, will share key lessons towards becoming a corporate leader within the STI space.

Micky Maharaj, Chief Operating Officer at OUTsurance Shared Services and Christelle Colman, Managing Director of Elite Risk, will share their industry perspectives to help instil a corporate mindset among the young IST graduates.

“The holistic learning approach in the IST Graduate Programme is welcomed in this era where the demand is greater for generalists rather than specialists,” says Micky.

Michelle Ashen, Professional Coach, MBSR Practitioner, Licensed Insights Partner, Founder of non-profit organisation Africans United & Head of Sales Strategy, Marketing & Corporate Affairs for MUA Insurance Acceptances (Pty) Ltd., is thrilled that the programme emphasises the development of soft skills and EQ. “A productive and healthy work environment depends on soft skills. The workplace is an interpersonal space where relationships must be built and fostered, perspectives must be exchanged, and occasionally conflicts must be resolved – all of which rely on someone with soft skills to enable them to function and thrive in teams and in organizations as a whole. The ability to demonstrate a good work ethic, compassion, understanding diversity, emotional intelligence, as well as being able to value and appreciate differences are just some examples of soft skills which employers actively seek. These softer skills and dispositions are critical for a talent to be naturally inclined to grow themselves and the business they serve and the graduate program is cognizant of this in the design of their content with their partners and experts.”

“Opportunities to learn from and engage with leaders of this magnitude are rare, and participants should make the most of this invaluable experience,” says Dr Kershen Pillay, CEO of the Graduate Institute of Financial Sciences (GIFS).

The IST Graduate Programme 2021 is the brainchild of GIFS, the Insurance Institute of Gauteng (IIG) and Sasria.  It’s aimed at speeding up digital transformation within the STI space. Read more about this ground-breaking programme here and meet the 25 participants here.

07 June 2021