KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 12): The insurance industry is facing a talent dearth. According to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, 50% of the current insurance workforce will retire by 2036, a not-too-distant future.
The younger generation’s lack of interest to join the insurance business is worrying, as the oldest of the Gen Z have already started entering the workforce. According to a study by the New York-based The Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development, less than 4% of people born between 1981 and 1997 would consider working for insurance companies. As of now, only 25% of the US insurance industry workforce are under the age of 35.
The experience in the US, is being felt in Malaysia as well. There is a fierce talent war, acknowledges MetLife Inc.
To solve the quandary, MetLife conducted the Hack4Job 2022 Virtual Hackathon from Oct 14 to 16, to discover the potential of tech talents globally. The inaugural event received registrations from over 19 countries, and 120 candidates were selected for the event.
The event was supported by key national digital players such as Microsoft, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and Cradle’s MySTARTUP, and InvestKL Corporation.
The virtual hackathon is also a part of MetLife’s global talent strategy to differentiate itself as an employer of choice for technologists, said a MetLife spokesperson.
“The hackathon is a unique and innovative way for MetLife to tap into a diverse pool of talent from all industries, companies and countries including start-ups, media and telecoms, gaming and academia. It is also a great way for potential technologists to get to know the people and culture at MetLife.”
The Hack4Job 2022 Virtual Hackathon focused on eight critical areas that AmMetLife prioritises: Full Stack [web developers], ReactJS [framework is an open-source JavaScript framework and library], SDET [Software Development Engineer in Test], DevSecOps [development, security, and operations], cloud engineers, solutions architects and Scrum Masters [facilitators for an Agile development team].
Upon selecting their roles, all candidates were grouped together in tables of six or eight. Each table then had to solve specific tech challenges and problem statements, and then choose a tech challenge to resolve.
The judging criteria for the hackathon included creativity, completeness of solution, ability to scale, robustness of functionality, intuitive user interface, teamwork and presentation quality.
The judges also observed and evaluated team members individually and qualified them for interviews, regardless of whether the team won.
MetLife asserted that technologists play an important role both in the business and customer realm. “Technologists at MetLife have opportunities to work on complex problems, mission-critical and enterprise scale solutions that will change lives and transform the future of insurance.”
Six winning teams won the first cohort and brought home spectacular prizes, including Apple iPhones, iPads and Apple Watch.
“Successful candidates have received job offers to join our technology teams,” shared the MetLife spokesperson.
Due to the positive feedback, MetLife plans to scale the event for roles globally in the future.