This challenge began on the evening of 13 January, when they visited the JustX Branding Solutions factory in Johannesburg and were presented with their task. It carried through to the next day when they performed their risk assessments.
The Hollard-sponsored challenge was the fourth of five the contestants had to complete in their bid to win the Insurance Apprentice title. The final task took place on 14 November.
For the Hollard challenge, the contestants were divided into two teams, which they named themselves: Resilience Risk Surveyors and #RiskMustFall.
The two-part task went as follows:
- Part 1 (evening tasks): the contestants assumed the role of risk surveyors to do a risk assessment of the JustX Branding Solutions factory. Inspecting the environment, contestants had to prepare a report identifying the risks they had picked up and offer suggestions as to how those risks could be reduced.
- Part 2 (day task): after completing a survey questionnaire they had been given, the teams made use of Hollard’s Broker App for research, and then presented to the judges what their risk recommendations and suggestions were.
Hollard Broker Markets risk consultant Roger Ingram listed the judges’ expectations of the teams: “The contestants should take note of the environment, be visual when walking through and assessing the factory, and have an open mind and ask questions.”
Risks the contestants had to look out for included “electrical cables, cigarette butts lying on the floor, plumbing in the building, trip hazards, light fittings, and any products that can assist in the start of a fire, among many other things”, Ingram said.
While observing the contestants, Ingram said they were “not doing too bad” but he had one critique: “There are crucial questions on the survey questionnaire that they haven’t gone deeper into.”
Another Hollard Broker Markets risk consultant, Philani Mbanjwa, said the apprentices were not paying sufficient attention to detail: “There were cables everywhere – we were even standing on top of them – but they only noticed them later. Overall, they’ve learnt a lot from their training; it’s just a matter of getting used to assessment.”
JustX Branding Solutions owner Justin Massyn said hosting the challenge at his premises meant that “I’m expecting someone who is familiar with potential risks and who can identify them. Being a business owner, I’m not in that position. I need experts to assess.”
The judges for this challenge were Hollardite Justin Naylor, Price Forbes chairman Theo Pauw, and MMI Holdings group executive for brand and corporate affairs Vuyo Lee.
Of this year’s The Insurance Apprentice, the second instalment of the series, head judge Pauw said, “I’m happy to say the second season of The Insurance Apprentice has grown in content and quality of the programme. I’m impressed with the high level of the contestants.”
The rewards of entering The Insurance Apprentice are high, Pauw said. “It gets them ahead. They become marketable. Every single one of the contestants last year said they learnt an immense amount from each other, from the whole process and from the feedback from judges. And this year’s feedback is the same. They will gain a lot from this experience.”
Lee said of this year’s apprentices: “They’re very strong people; as a result, no one really stands out.”
