Scaling the heights

Fiona Andrews looks at ways brokers can drive up training and competence standards to help them raise their game in recruitment and strengthen their competitive position

There was a time when all brokers could recruit specialist staff locally. By specialist I mean well-trained people with skills in broking, underwriting, claims and customer service. This is no longer the case, as outside the bigger centres this talent pool has dried up almost completely.

The market has moved on as insurers and global brokers have consolidated and withdrawn from the urban high street to their call-centre bastions, taking with them much of the market for local, insurance-based jobs