Work placement brings smiles to students.
Working in the insurance industry can lead to many great opportunities. However, the industry as a whole struggles to attract young professionals to fill job vacancies.
BSI Insurance is proud to feature some of our young professionals. Meet Natalie Derbowka, a charismatic student from Université de Saint-Boniface. As well as, Shirley Cheng, and Yashan Wu, two driven students from Asper school of business. All three found themselves joining the team at BSI Insurance Brokers Ltd.
Derbowka joined in 2020 to help in accounting, and Cheng & Wu were recently added to the BSI family via the Asper Co-Op program.
The Asper Co-Op program helps to assist business students and grads in developing their career strategies. It also prepares them to market themselves for a successful career. “It is very exciting to be able to use their creative energy to help with some of the challenges we’re facing today in our industry.” stated Lisa Kirk, VP of Human Resources at BSI Insurance.
Shirley Cheng is majoring in Human Resources/Industrial Relations at Asper, and is currently assisting the HR department. “Being in the Co-Op program gave me the chance to meet with so many companies and to make long-lasting connections.” Shirley chose BSI because of “the people and the leadership team.”
BSI has 16 locations throughout Southern Manitoba and offers its employees many attractive benefits such as a great work environment, Group Benefits, Matched RRSP & DPSP, Profit-Sharing, and a paid day off for your birthday.
Yashan Wu is a marketing major and a driven entrepreneur. When Yashan heard that BSI was looking for a student Marketing Assistant, she quickly put her name in. “This experience will help expand my network and I’ll learn directly from the people who do this every day.”
These days, recruiting motivated individuals in any job sector has its challenges. It’s not specific to insurance. However, since insurance is heavily regulated, applicants may not always apply if they perceive themselves as underqualified. “If we feel an applicant fits in well with BSI’s culture, and share our core values, we are 100% willing to train them so they can achieve what they need to be successful in our industry.” added Kirk.
Natalie Derbowka is a 4th-year student at the Université de Saint-Boniface, who is studying Macroeconomics & Microeconomics as well as Financial accounting. Natalie is going to be taking a sabbatical from the workforce to pursue one of her dreams; to travel the world. Her departure is potentially opening a door for another student.
“We currently seeking an Accounting Clerk (Term) that could be perfect for another Co-Op student.” Lisa Kirk also encourages everyone interested in this position to apply. Visit www.bsimb.com/careers or contact our Human Resource team at careers@bsimb.com
