Insurtech Talent Development in Hong Kong – From Insurance to Insurtech: Strategies for Building a Sustainable Talent Pipeline

40 From Insurance to Insurtech: Strategies for Building a Sustainable Talent Pipeline Exhibit 21: Comparison of Insurtech Talent Development in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Singapore Jurisdiction Position on insurtech talent needs and gaps Strategy for insurtech talent development Hong Kong No clearly defined clusters, skills and gaps No clear strategy for talent development and plugging the gaps between demand and supply of skilled insurtech manpower. The sector has yet to see a trusted central agent to take the lead to coordinate efforts to develop a pipeline for insurtech talent. Some private players are working on talent development on their own. Not many skill providers or educational institutions are working for imparting training on a wide range of hard and soft insurtech skills. United Kingdom Some skill categories and specific skills in each category for insurtech have been identified, but there is a lack of clear gap analysis No leadingor nodal agency tospearhead insurtech talent development in the UK. Singapore Some hard and soft skills for insurtech have been identified, but a comprehensive study clearly identifying the precise gaps has yet to be carried out Singapore Fintech Association’s subcommittee on insurtech is working on talent development with the help from industry and other players such as tertiary institutions. It is facilitating connection between industry and experts to advise and mentor insurtech companies. Summary of Comparison: Insurtech Talent Development betweenHong Kong, the UnitedKingdomand Singapore Among the three jurisdictions serving as major insurance hubs, Hong Kong is at a comparatively nascent stage in terms of skills gap mapping and the maturity of talent development strategies for insurtech. While Hong Kong does not have a set of clearly defined talent and skillset needs yet, both the UK and Singapore have identified some relevant skills although there is a lack of comprehensive analysis on the precise skills gaps. Both Hong Kong and the UK lack a unified or systematic approach to coordinate cross-industry talent development efforts through a nodal agency. On the contrary, Singapore’s Fintech Association has taken up a major coordinating role through its insurtech subcommittee. Overall, all three locations would benefit from more robust skills mapping and assignment of clear responsibilities for the leading organization to address insurtech manpower challenges. Singapore’s collaborative model provides a foundation but requires further maturation, for instance enhancing coordination to identify the precise skill deficiencies in the various insurance functions and better allocation of roles across stakeholders. Exhibit 21 summarizes how Hong Kong compares with the UK and Singapore in terms of the identification of skills gaps in insurtech and overall insurtech adoption strategies.