Here are some of the program's milestones:
September 16, 2009 - Insurance Institute's Career Connections program introduces its new career messaging and materials to post-secondary school students as the 2009 On-Campus Career Fair Calendar begins across Canada. As the program launches its next five year strategic plan, it has rebranded itself and produced new videos, new brochures, new on-line profiles, and this new Web site. Check out our new sections for each of our audiences: High school students, post-secondary school students, career changers, teachers, ambassadors and industry. Watch the career videos and browse our on-line career profiles. Watch for more developments to come.
July 2009 - The 2009 Career Connections 2009 Annual Report Card is released. The report card reports on the 2008-09 school year, and how Career Connections materials and messaging reached:
- 70,000 students at 94 career events – that includes 64 post-secondary career events on 32 university and college campuses, and 30 secondary school and community career events across the country. In an eight month school calendar, that’s more than three events a week!
- 11,000 high school students in 306 classroom presentations conducted by 159 ambassadors and staff
- 241 trained ambassadors on the roster, representing a 60% increase over last year’s number.
- 12,000 high school teachers at 20 teacher conferences, distributed over 9,000 teacher resources.
- More than 400 grade nine students and parents/guardians who participated in “Feed the Minds of Youth” luncheon events at 11 Institutes and Chapters across the country in support of The Learning Partnership’s: Take Our Kids to Work™ Day on November 5, 2008.
- More than 550 high school students and career coaches at the Halton Industry Education Council’s “Women as Career Coaches” Dinner Event which connects young women with women in industry, education and community to learn about career options.
May 2008 - The need for a program like Career Connections and the promotion of careers in insurance to high school and post-secondary school students and graduates is substantiated in the Insurance Institute's landmark research report "A Demographic Analysis of the Property & Casualty Insurance Industry in Canada; 2007 - 2017." The need to promote careers in insurance to career changers, new Canadias and aboriginals was also clearly recommended and will be incorporated into Career Connections next evolution.
October 2007 - "Ethics in Business" on-line student contest is launched in Ontario to accompany Lesson #5 of "You're IN Business." Contest expanded to BC in 2008.
September 2007 - Career Connections National staff gets a boast with the hiring of a National Ambassador Coordinator to coordinate our high school outreach program of classroom presentations and career fairs for secondary school students. That also refocused our Career Connections Officer to events and activities at the post-secondary school level.
April 2007 - Teacher resource "You're IN Business" is published featuring 7 lessons with three exercises each for 21 activities about starting a business, marketing, ethics, business continuity and liabilities.
April 2006 - Teacher resource "Risk Responsibility Reality" is published featuring three fun vignettes on a DVD and lesson plans for law, family studies and life skills curriculum.
2005 - Teacher resource "Know Your Risk" is published.
September 15, 2004 - Insurance Institute of Canada announces launch of new initiative called Career Connections. This comprehensive campaign seeks to inform students and teachers about the impact of insurance on our way of life and to attract qualified people from a variety of educational backgrounds and interests to the world of insurance. The intention is to help educators achieve provincial curriculum outcomes while teaching students about insurance concepts such as risk and industry issues such as ethics. The initiative was launched with a career kit that included a career video, a career brochure, industry overview, and, a program overview and video guide for teachers.