The Vermont Captive Insurance Emerging Leaders (VCIEL) group is now 1.5 years old and is making great strides. Besides hosting a conference welcome reception – which it plans to do again in 2025, with much more food I’ll add – the group has been internally active and engaged outwards with young professionals and college campuses.
As we know in this industry, it’s all about connections and partnerships, and VCIEL is developing those not only with the major higher ed institutions in Vermont, i.e. UVM, St Mike’s, Champlain College – but also with other organizations that share the same passion for building out tomorrow’s thriving captive insurance workforce.
One of those organizations happens to be another university, Butler, who, on an unrelated note, has an outstanding basketball program. Butler University offers a Master of Science in Risk and Insurance program. This graduate degree provides advanced education in risk management, insurance, and analytics. The program is a unique venture because it has students manage a captive insurance company domiciled in Vermont as part of the curriculum. This hands-on experience allows students to apply classroom concepts to the real-world operations of a captive insurer.
The VCIEL, along with sponsors Hylant and the State of the Vermont, hosted the Butler MSRI students for a reception last Thursday at the flagship Switchback brewery in Burlington. Students, faculty and administrators from Vermont colleges attended to find out about risk management curriculum and the captive career opportunities available in the Green Mountain State.
One of VCIEL’s main goals, to better prepare students for careers in the captive space and build a pipeline of talented, knowledgeable professionals to sustain the industry’s growth, was being executed right before our eyes at last week’s reception. In fact, I’m happy to report that a student who has been engaged with VCIEL for the last year has lined up a captive job once he graduates in spring 2025. That’s exactly what the aim is and what we want to provide to VCIA members!
Stay tuned for more VCIEL updates, and thanks again to everyone who works hard to advance our industry in Vermont and worldwide.
