Creating a wealth of opportunity for home grown talent

Utmost Wealth Solutions, the specialist international wealth management brand, is providing a wealth of opportunity to four students from University College Isle of Man (UCM) as they secure permanent positions at Utmost’s Isle of Man office.

Juan Killey, Liam Cain, Tom Smith and Daniel de Weert have recently completed the BSc Honours degree in Computer Science at UCM, having reaped valuable experience as IS interns at the Isle of Man office of Utmost Wealth Solutions. Tom started in 2015 with Liam and Juan joining in 2017, while Daniel joined in 2018 during the final year of his course.

During this time, Daniel’s focus has been IS infrastructure and this is the team in which he will develop his skills further as a permanent member of staff.

Juan, Liam and Tom have gained hands-on understanding of the IS infrastructure, systems support, business analysis and project management functions.

A key part of their development was being given a blank sheet of paper to design and deliver a new employee intranet for the Isle of Man office to assist with internal communication.  As intended, the site has successfully become an integral hub for all internal communications, information and socialising.

The Isle of Man office provides support services to other parts of the Utmost Group with IS being a key element of this. This is at a time when the Group is experiencing rapid growth in the international markets it services from its bases in the Isle of Man, Ireland and Guernsey. This growth is creating further staff development opportunities at the Group’s Isle of Man office.

Mike Foy, Chief Executive of Utmost Group Isle of Man, said, “At a time when there is significant demand on the Island for talented staff, we took the opportunity to work with UCM to take on four IS interns. This has proven to be an excellent way to address our need for IS resource, while also continuing our commitment to the community in which we have been based and supported for over 25 years. Juan, Liam, Tom and Daniel have demonstrated real enthusiasm to learn on the job and have coped well with working in a rapidly expanding business, while keeping on top of their studies.

“When I was considering how best to implement our new intranet, it didn’t take long to work out that the most highly-qualified people to start with a blank sheet of paper, and no preconceived ideas, would be the IS interns. They really rose to the challenge and have done a fantastic job that has helped to improve communication within the office. We look forward to seeing more of their talents as they pursue their careers at Utmost.”

Tom noted, “The ability to gain valuable hands-on experience in a variety of IS disciplines was vital in giving us the knowledge necessary to successfully complete our course. The right balance of office life and academic study provided the ideal environment for us, especially while we completed our final year dissertations.”

Liam continued, “In particular, I really appreciated being given the task of creating a new intranet. This ensured that we were making a real contribution to the business and we relished the faith that was put in the team to deliver an effective solution.”

Daniel said, “Utmost has expanded rapidly over the last year and the opportunity to gain work experience while completing my course was of immense value. To be part of the busy infrastructure team during this period has been very rewarding.” 

Juan echoed these comments saying, “All four of us have appreciated the opportunity we were given in an expanding organisation in one of the Island’s established and leading sectors. While the life assurance sector has been in existence for around 40 years, it still continues to offer opportunities in the Island’s international financial services industry.”

Simon Pickering, Head of Insurance and Pensions, Finance Isle of Man, said, “With high employment on the Isle of Man, we need to train and retain talented people to ensure that our financial services sector can further develop the leading position we have established over the last few decades. Utmost Wealth Solutions has demonstrated a real commitment to working with UCM to help develop our home-grown talent and provide career opportunities in an expanding international business. This is a great example of the private and public sectors working together to enhance the Island’s leading international position.”

Following the success of this initiative, Utmost is already in the process of arranging further intern and graduate opportunities.

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