The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the FIA. The article below was supplied by The Insurance Institute of South Africa.
The IISA is a professional body of the insurance industry whose objective is to advance and promote the pre- eminence of insurance professionals while acting in the interest of the insurance society.
The IISA has set a five-year strategy that aims to revive the purpose of the institute, which is to build capacity within the insurance industry through insurance skills development and exposure into insurance as a profession, thereby mitigating skills shortages, improving opportunities for employment and social security and making a sustainable contribution to the insurance industry and the economy.
The new strategy will be supported by the strategic pillars: Intelligent Education, influential Reputation, Sustainable Membership and Active Networking. In order to implement the strategy, a new vision has been adopted, which is to provide sustainable skills development platforms within the insurance industry.
Through various industry initiatives, and in the quest to fulfil its vision, the IISA aims to minimise the shortage of skills in the insurance industry, create tangible impact and transformation for the industry and our country, elevate insurance as a career, obtain international recognition for professional designations and establish strategic partnerships and collaboration with relevant stakeholders in order to ensure improved insurance skills development in Africa.
In delivering and serving the insurance industry, the IISA maintains its core values, which include Professionalism, Integrity, Teamwork and Innovation. We believe that these values will guide our service offering to the insurance industry and hold us to a quality standard that is acceptable to the industry we serve.
In the next three years, the institute will be on a drive to improve awareness and relevance of the insurance profession and create platforms for insurance skills development and continuous development. This will contribute to making insurance aspirational as a career choice.
Being a professional member of the institute adds value to the quality of skills and professional standards that are required for the industry to thrive. It is for this reason that one of our key objectives is to obtain international recognition for our professional designations. Our partnerships with educational organisations will further enhance the academic offerings that underpin our professional designations and establish common educational standards.
We will also be taking our service offering to the rest of the continent. Our Africa strategy will assist to mitigate skills shortages across the continent. The IISA partners with institutes and associations in other African countries to promote consistency in insurance skills development.
With the recent changes in legislation that impact higher learning institutions, it has become imperative for the IISA to move ahead with the establishment of the College of Insurance. This is one of our big audacious goals. In order to bring it to life we will be working with various partners such as SAIA, FIA, and FPI to mention just a few. The college will focus on delivering insurance training in a practical workshop format. It will also offer management development programmes and workshops for continuous professional development.
The IISA Learning Centre will continue to offer a variety of courses in insurance. In 2018 the services of the learning centre will be taken nationwide. These courses focus on qualification support for key insurance modules, technical insurance issues, introductory courses and hot topics in the industry. They are specifically designed to improve skills and subject-matter understanding.
It is through these initiatives and other industry collaborations that the IISA will realise its vision and continue to serve the insurance industry.
For further information on the IISA service offering, visit www.iisa.co.za.
