It's no secret that some risk managers have been concerned about a lack of talented, fresh faces in a growing industry.
If the students I met at the RIMS conference are any indication, however, I'd say the risk management profession will be in good shape in days to come.
At a Spencer Educational Foundation reception in Boston, I met four students who are studying risk management at Virginia Commonwealth University. They were bright, friendly and very excited about attending RIMS and about their careers in risk management.
They were also savvy about mining career prospects, readily passing out their Gamma Iota Sigma Alpha Mu Chapter business cards.
One student I spoke with, Kanwar Anand, a junior at VCU, told me that during his rounds in the exhibit hall, he had met some people at the Lloyd's booth. They recommended that Kanwar apply for an eight-week 2011 internship. No slacker, he already has completed two four-week internships.
This is all good news, since several risk managers lately have told me that even if good candidates are attracted to the industry, they may be discouraged by a dwindling number of jobs. As a result, those candidates could be lost to other areas of the industry, such as broking or underwriting.
While this is a possibility, I have faith that dedicated students will find their way to the challenging field of risk management.
Why? For one thing, the risk management profession has been behind many of those students the whole way. Take scholarships. In 2009 Spencer awarded 37 scholarships totaling $188,000.
It also has given $300,000 in grants to the Anita Benedetti Student Involvement Program since 1979. And there are the "Risk Manager in Residence" program grants, that have enabled risk managers to speak to students about the profession. There also have been grants for internships to RIMS member companies.
There is much more, including information about companies contributing to these programs on the Spencer website, www.spencered.org.
I wish these students the best in their chosen profession and I'm pleased to see that the entire community is behind them.
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