COVER FEATURE: INSETA
We have begun engaging stakeholders across the insurance and education sectors to improve that flow of information. Engagement should never become a tickbox exercise. We should be able to show how what we heard changed a priority, a programme, or a decision.
We need long-term partners who help us understand present and future skills needs, strengthen curricula, and create clearer pathways between education and work."
Where does the skills pipeline most need strengthening? It must begin well before tertiary education. Given South Africa ' s challenges in mathematics and related subjects, we need to reach learners from Grade 10, show them the opportunities in insurance, and help them build the foundations those careers require. There is also a major drive to extend learning opportunities into rural areas, where access to industry pathways is limited.
We are learning from abroad as well. We have sent people to Peru to learn alongside participants from other countries and bring relevant insights home.
What role should universities and research partners play? We need long-term partners who help us understand present and future skills needs, strengthen curricula, and create clearer pathways between education and work. Research tests our assumptions, identifies changes in demand, and shows whether existing interventions are working, and that evidence must shape strategy and programme design. A partnership proves its value in what it changes for learners and the sector, long after the agreement is signed.
INSETA has achieved an unqualified audit. What does that milestone mean to you? I am immensely proud of it and of the people whose work made it possible. It gives stakeholders confidence that INSETA is strengthening its governance, controls, and accountability, and it gives us a firmer foundation from which to serve learners, employers, and the sector. The challenge now is to sustain that standard while increasing the value our work creates.
What legacy would you like this Board to leave? I would like us to leave an organisation that can demonstrate the difference it makes, with stronger relationships, better information about its beneficiaries, and programmes that respond quickly to changing skills needs. A legacy should not depend on one individual. It lies in systems, relationships, and a culture the next group of leaders can build on.
What advice would you give young professionals entering the sector? Be intentional about learning and about the relationships you build. Qualifications provide a foundation, but growth also requires curiosity, practical experience, and a willingness to keep developing as the sector changes.
I have volunteered in many roles, within and outside the accounting profession, because I believe strongly in giving back. Those roles let me contribute, and they also broadened my knowledge, networks, and understanding. Do not wait until you reach a particular title before you serve. Find ways to contribute throughout your career, and make it easier for others to follow. �
ABOUT INSETA The Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority( INSETA) is a statutory public entity responsible for promoting, facilitating, and monitoring education and skills development across South Africa ' s insurance and related services sector. Its remit includes life and non-life insurance, reinsurance, pension funding, collective investments, risk management, brokers, and intermediaries. Working with employers and education partners, it supports bursaries, learnerships, internships, skills programmes, and workplace learning, with the aim of growing scarce and critical skills and strengthening transformation in the sector.
10 sabusinessintegrator. co. za