The CII is to call on the insurance industry for funding to expand the scope of its skills initiative.
The insurance body said that its Talent initiative, aimed at encouraging young people to enter the insurance industry, had been successful since its launch last year and was ahead of target.
It is now looking to extend the programme, which has so far concentrated on university students and graduates, to school students.
But the CII said it needed financial "commitment" from the insurance industry to do this. It required "greater involvement from the industry" and warned that its plans to expand the initiative could be limited if funding was not forthcoming.
The project has to date been funded by the CII using some of the "substantial" legacy funds that were received from the GISC after it was wound up as the industry's regulator.
It is thought approximately £250,000 has been spent.
Since the launch of the initiative last October, the CII's careers website has achieved nearly 30,000 hits, with over 9,500 registering with supporting companies – 4,000 more than originally targeted for the year, the CII said.
It had also gathered the support of 19 insurance companies and broking firms. The Talent campaign had also been short listed for a marketing award.
CII sales and marketing director Lee Gladwell said that the Talent initiative had showed "good, tangible success" since its launch. He said it add generated "nearly 10,000" inquiries for the insurance industry, but conceded it was "too early" to show how many jobs had been taken.
"The next step will be to target schools, but we need to decide what the prop-osition looks like," he told Insurance Times.
"We will also extend the programme to smaller employers."
Gladwell said: "The CII has funded it so far. As we extend it we will be looking at other companies to fund it. We will put together a benefits package to support funding.
"The extent of what we can do will be limited by the funding we get. The fact we have had success and a comprehensive plan for the year puts us in a good place to ask the industry to provide funding."
Chris Hanks, general manager of Allianz Cornhill Commercial, said the company would put money into the talent initiative. "[Targeting schools] would get to students early and help them understand the industry."
But Paul Picknett, Groupama corporate services director, said Groupama was unlikely to provide money. "Schools are probably not productive for us, as we are not a well-know brand. In a few years would they remember Groupama? It would be different if we were a lot more well-known."
The CII has voted to overhaul its governance structure, in a move that will see its 49-strong council expand to 65 and a governing board established.
