Covéa Insurance Apprentice’s Ministerial Meeting

Covéa Insurance apprentice, Chelsea Keenan had a brush with power on Thursday 25^th February as she met with Member of Parliament, Nicky Morgan, the Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities. The meeting took place at Calderdale College in Halifax where Chelsea’s apprenticeship journey began back in 2012. Ms Morgan was visiting the college to find out more about the apprenticeship opportunities available to women, and had asked to meet with some exceptional female apprentices from the college’s programme.

Chelsea has had an incredibly successful career with the insurer since starting her apprenticeship in 2012 fresh out of 6^th form, winning the Calderdale College “Apprentice of the Year” award in 2014 and going on to become a permanent and highly regarded member of staff.

Matthew Metcalfe, Manager-Policyholder Claims, was Chelsea’s manager when she first joined the company and was instrumental in the formation of the apprenticeship programme, he commented:

“It’s fantastic to see how much Chelsea has grown since joining us on the apprenticeship scheme a couple of years ago. She’s developed from being someone fresh out of school to being a key member of staff who has helped with the training of our latest group of apprentices. It’s very pleasing to see her getting opportunities to meet with key public figures.

We’re constantly looking for young, enthusiastic talent that can grow and develop along with the company’s vision and ethos. Being an apprentice gives you the opportunity to partake in a high quality work experience placement, gain a recognised qualification and develop professional skills, whilst earning a salary. At the other end of the scale, there’s us, the employer, who have the opportunity to unlock the great potential of these 16-24 year olds, while accessing administrative support, financial help and structured training. The very least we achieve from the scheme is helping support these young people to become ‘work ready’; the very best we achieve is being part of their development whilst investing in our talent pool for the future.“

Chelsea added:

“The Covéa Insurance apprentice programme has helped me to get to where I am today because it’s shown me that you can achieve a qualification whilst earning a wage. This was vital for me as I have a family to support. The apprenticeship course has given me the knowledge and techniques I needed to help me build a successful career”.

This will be Chelsea’s second parliamentary visit following a meeting with PM David Cameron at the beginning of last year when he visited the Covéa Insurance office in Halifax to meet with apprentices and discuss their experiences. (Click the side bar for more information)

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About Covéa Insurance

Covéa Insurance Plc is the UK underwriting business of leading French mutual insurance group Covéa (which includes the global reinsurer PartnerRe since July 2022). 

Covéa Insurance looks after the insurance needs of UK customers, across a range of product lines; delivering financial reassurance through its Standard & Poor’s ‘AA- stable’ rating, as a guaranteed subsidiary of Covéa.  

Covéa Insurance has a strong people and service ethos and holds ServiceMark accreditation with Distinction for its Personal Lines operation and its Commercial & HNW Claims teams, as well as Chartered Insurer status for its Commercial business. Covéa Insurance is signatory to the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter and the insurance Inclusivity Pledge and has been named one of the top 75 employers in West Yorkshire & the Humber. In 2022 Covéa Insurance was named Insurer of the Year at the British Claims Awards and Personal Lines Insurer of the Year at the Insurance Times Awards.