The insurance industry has purposed to improving professionalism as one of the key drivers for insurance growth. Saul Sseremba, the Chief Executive Officer of Insurance Training College (ITC) enumerates the role of the College in enhancing professionalism.
A transformation journey to a College.
The Insurance Training College of Uganda is the training arm of the insurance sector in Uganda. It started as The Insurance Institute of Uganda (IIU) in 1964 when members came together and formed an institute that would equip them with the knowledge and skills required for the profession. In 2001, the Institute started conducting the Certificate of Proficiency (COP) in partnership with the College of Insurance - Nairobi.
A Board of Trustees was constituted to oversee the management of the training levy and a Governing Council and a fully-fledged secretariat were established to run the activities of the institute. In 2011, the Insurance act was amended, and a training levy introduced to support all training and examinations related activities of the then institute.
In 2014, National Council for Higher education (NCHE) accredited the Certificate of Proficiency (COP), Certificate in Insurance (CIU), Diploma in Insurance (DIU) and Advanced Diploma in Insurance programmes which enabled the then institute to admit it’s very first students in 2015. In February 2015, 380 students were admitted in the first intake, however this number has grown to 816 students admitted in the last intake of July 2019. Another indication of growth is seen with the increasing number of graduates from 224 in 2015 to 1,005 in 2019. This is a clear sign of confidence in the services we are providing to both our industry and the other stake holders.
In April 2019, the institute was transformed into a public College as per the insurance act (2017). This new status gives the College an opportunity to grow our membership and partnerships which will foster more trainings and research in insurance related area. The partnerships are also aimed at creating new avenues for funding through scholarships and grants, with an intention of reducing over dependency on the training levy. The College is proud to have acquired its permanent home in 2019 at Bukoto.
How ready are you to steer the wheel in delivering the mandate of the College?
The overall vision of the College is ‘To be the premier Insurance training college in the region’. This vision is driven against a new strategic plan against which our goals and activities are based between now and 2022. The secretariat and management of the College are more than ready to achieve the new mandate of the college through; increased stakeholder satisfaction, ensuring financial sustainability, promotion of innovation hubs, building a competent and motivated human resource workforce, creation of an ICT driven environment & library, enhanced visibility of the College, membership growth, research and grant writing, creation of new partnerships, etc.
Your mandate is to enhance professionalism in Uganda’s insurance industry; to what extent have you realized this mandate?
For the last 5 years, the College has fulfilled its mandate through key areas like the accreditation of its programs with NCHE, conducting short-term trainings in various fields of insurance, increased visibility among its membership, creation of both local and international partnerships, creation of university insurance clubs, establishment of a code of conduct for its membership and creating forums for discussion on insurance related topics that are affecting the industry.
The College will in the next 5 years fulfill its mandate by consolidating its achievements and focus on its new goals in research, consultancy, specialized trainings, partnerships, online engagements, membership growth and involvement.
It is one year since you acquired a permanent home, what does this mean to the College?
The acquisition of a permanent home was in fulfilment of one of the requirements of NCHE but, it was also a strategic move to build trust amongst our partners and stakeholders as this reflects stability.
The new home also offers additional training and office space where we can effectively deliver on our mandate.
You embarked on launching insurance clubs in schools and higher institutions of learning, how does this fit into your goal of creating awareness about insurance in the country?
In 2015, we started engaging schools in order to create awareness and interest in insurance as a career among the youth at an early age. We set out to start with young people in schools and the intention was to reach to as many schools and universities as possible.
We realized that young people rarely talk about insurance as a career choice. The College has created insurance clubs in schools and universities and offered other initiatives like special trainings. We have so far created insurance clubs in Bugema, MUBS and Kyambogo University and we are still opening more clubs.
What are some of the biggest training gaps in Uganda’s insurance industry?
Insurance is a dynamic industry where innovation and development of new ideas for creation of products for the ever-changing market takes centre stage. Because of the ever-changing market needs, the industry players are in constant need to keep their skills and knowledge in insurance updated if they are to remain relevant in the industry.
The College therefore must constantly be kept abreast with the training needs of it’s membership and offer trainings in areas where need arises. Examples of training gaps today are in areas of Bancassurance, micro-insurance, Health insurance, Marine insurance and takaful insurance. The need to also support the digitalization of the insurance sector to ease access of insurance services by the consumers is another area that the College is investing into.
Where do you see ITC in the next ten years?
ITC will be a center of reference on Insurance related matters in the region. The College will have created partnerships with both government and private institutions and positioned itself in areas of research, consultancy and trainings that will be relevant to the insurance sector. Its membership will also have grown to embrace professionals outside the insurance industry
