A Kansas Insurance Department staff member will be visiting with business majors at Kansas universities during February to promote insurance courses as part of a statewide education initiative to attract more employees to the insurance industry.

The initiative, sponsored by the Kansas Insurance Department and the Kansas Insurance Education Foundation, has so far attracted more than 80 students to take courses toward completion of an insurance certificate. That certificate would serve as an incentive for Kansas insurance companies to hire those students following their graduation from college.

Daniel Rineberg, department community outreach specialist, will be at the business schools or departments of the following universities: Feb. 10, Fort Hays State University; Feb. 13, Washburn University; and Feb. 14, Emporia State University. An additional visit will be scheduled for Johnson County Community College. All visits will be from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the commons areas of each business school or department.

Additional visits will be scheduled later for the business schools at the University of Kansas-Edwards Campus and Kansas State University.

Rineberg, a recent Fort Hays State University graduate, will explain to students about the four classes they can take from any of the participating schools. Those courses fulfill the requirement for the insurance certificate. Insurance industry executives have expressed the need for new hires to have basic insurance knowledge in hand as they step in to fill jobs previously occupied by long-time industry employees.

“We are pleased with the initial success of the initiative throughout the state,” said Ken Selzer, CPA, Kansas Commissioner of Insurance, “but we know that any new industry employees need to ‘hit the ground running’ with their companies. Having those core insurance courses and the certificate in hand provides prospective employees with an advantage over other applicants in the Kansas marketplace.  We will continue to impress on our college business majors how valuable this program is.”