Canada Life International (CLI) has been part of the Isle of Man community for over 30 years.

It has enjoyed remarkable success over that period, growing from a team of four when it first opened its doors in 1987 to a workforce of over 170 today - a workforce that currently ranges in aid from 18 to 73.

The company administers in excess of £17 billion of investments and is currently experiencing unprecedented growth in new business.

Anticipating further growth the company is now on the search for the next generation of talent and during the recent summer months welcomed a number of local students to its business as Vicki Hotchkiss, Head of Talent and Organisational Development, explains: ’This summer we launched a new programme to give local students a flavour of a career with CLI.

’We wanted to offer something far more than a standard work experience programme.

’The students who joined us took on real, paid roles that exist within our business, providing them with the opportunity to interact with teams across the company and in some cases dealing directly with customers and financial advisers.’

The company took on a total of 16 students across the summer, 11 joining the front line within the Customer Services Team, two working with the company Actuaries, two working within the Finance Team and one providing hands-on support to the HR Team.

The students ranged from 16-year-olds who had just completed their GCSEs, through those who have just finished their A-Levels, all the way to those that are soon to graduate from university.

Sean Christian, Managing Director and Executive Director for Wealth Management at Canada Life commented: ’All great companies are built on a foundation of a diverse workforce and inclusive culture.

’At CLI we place great importance on both diversity and inclusion and our summer student programme has not only provided experience and insight for the students but also for us as an employer.

’As an employer we must be continually thinking about the needs of our customers of tomorrow and how they will want to engage with a company such as ours.

’We learnt a great deal from the young students that came to work for us across the summer months.

’They look at things through a different lens, they challenge why we do things in a certain way and they give us invaluable insight into what they want from an employer of choice in the future.

’That’s invaluable knowledge we can then use to shape how we operate, how we service our customers and advisers of the future and how we set ourselves up to provide a diverse workforce with the career opportunities and challenges that are both rewarding and fulfilling.’

As a thank you for their contribution, CLI hosted farewell drinks at Bar George last Friday. The company would like to wish all their summer students a successful academic year and looks forward to welcoming them back in 2020.