Conestoga news

December 5, 2013 10:59 AM

Students explore careers in insurance

Local high school students were invited to explore careers in the insurance industry at an event held at Conestoga’s Doon campus on November 22.

Students and faculty from the Insurance - Property and Casualty program (formerly Business Insurance) hosted 40 grade 12 students from Galt Collegiate Institute in Cambridge and Sir John A. McDonald High School in Waterloo. The students were invited to browse information booths staffed by industry partners and local insurance companies and encouraged to collect information on the different job opportunities available to program graduates. InsSeminar.jpg

Dave Smiderle, chair of the School of Business and Hospitality, said the goal of the session was to provide prospective students with a look at how closely connected the insurance industry is and the variety of jobs available.

“This program is highly connected with the industry,” said Smiderle. “It’s this connection that shows prospective students the industry is committed to hiring Conestoga students and providing employment once they graduate.”

Smiderle explained the Property and Casualty program has a very high job placement rate for graduates as well as many scholarships and bursary options for students enrolling in the program.

Ashley Nietlispach, a first-year student in the Insurance - Property and Casualty program, said she chose the program because of the opportunities the insurance industry had to offer.

“We want to make the students aware of the opportunities insurance holds,” said Nietlispach. “Insurance isn’t boring and we are using this event to help change that perspective.”

Smiderle pointed out that careers in insurance are much broader than most people realize.

“Insurance is an industry in which there are many careers,” stated Smiderle. “If you like to do something specific, you can usually find it in insurance.”

Conestoga offers both the Insurance - Property and Casualty Co-op program, which provides students with broad exposure to the fields of property and casualty insurance, as well as the Insurance- Life Co-op program, which focuses specifically on the field of life insurance.