EarnandLearn.ie

Designator

Anyone have any info on the above named website? EarnandLearn.ie

Ive heard a few radio adverts that its basically an apprenticeship where you work and train in the insurance industry. Just wondering does anyone have more info on the details? The website is pretty vague about it

IrishGrimReaper

It's a three-year apprenticeship in which you'll be working pretty much full-time with 1 day a week dedicated to online lectures delivered by Sligo IT (now called AIT).

You'll have two separate exam routes, one with IT Sligo which will eventually lead you to get a level 8 honours degree upon finishing the 3 years and the other are Insurance exams delivered by the Insurance Institute of Ireland to gain your APA, and then CIP designation which are insurance specific qualifications.

Some students leave the course after two years when they get the CIP and change employers because it generally leads to a large increase in salary but my advice would be to finish the full course and get that honours degree as it looks great on a CV and will be more beneficial down the line.

Insurance isn't for everyone but the apprenticeship was a game changer for me and the money is very good after 3-4 years (in commercial insurance) although you'll need to change employer to get a meaningful increase. I don't have kids or other commitments like that so I was able to fully focus on the course.

The last bit of advice is to go either directly to an Insurer and do commercial underwriting or to a commercial insurance broker such as AON, Willis Towers Watson, or Marsh. I would not advise you to go into personal lines (motor/home insurance) and also avoid claims as these are high burnout areas and the money is much better in commercial after 3 years of experience.

I think the website has lots of info tbh you should take more time and look through it. It's too early for most employers to advertise their positions, you should see more pop up around June. I've looked at those who are hiring at the minute and I would not join any of them.

https://earnandlearn.ie/

Designator

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120382176#Comment_120382176

Thanks for the info and insight. I guess the big question here is what kind of money are we talking? Im in a good paying job at the moment but in this economy its always no harm to change job for an increase. What kind of money is it during the apprenticeship and then after also?

IrishGrimReaper

I think the bigger main companies like the ones I mentioned are high €20s closer to €30K for the Apprenticeship if the role is based in Dublin. Changing to the Insurance apprenticeship isn't going to make you more in the short term but the 3-year mark when you finish the course is the sweet spot for a good increase and it should only go up if you can interview well when changing jobs. Also, it's an industry badly suffering to attract talent so there are always jobs going (this is the reason why the apprenticeship was launched).

Mine was based in Galway commencing September 2017 and was €22K but I'm 99% sure it's been increased since then to around €27K with the cost of living etc and think it's higher in Dublin.

Once you've done the 3 years you can move jobs easily to a €45-55K role in at least these commercial products (Property Insurance, Public Liability, Employers Liability, Management Liability, Professional Indemnity and Cyber Insurance).

I moved to my current job with 5 years of experience and my salary is €70K, it was €59K before that with 4.5 years of experience - I'm probably going to stay in my current role for a few years as it's fully remote. I think my salary will increase to around €80K-€85K over the next two years but if I changed jobs in about two years I could probably get a jump to €100K but my area is a specialized area called Management Liability.

Insurance isn't for everyone but I never finished school and I've worked in bars and factories which were god awful so the Insurance industry has been good to me.

Despite the bad rep in the media, the people are generally lovely and in my time I've met perhaps 2-3 tops that I did not like.