There's no way around it — the insurance industry hasn't done as well as it should in recruiting new talent.

That's why a new collaborative effort called MyPath to encourage millennials to consider careers in insurance and risk management is most welcome. The initiative, which is being coordinated by The Institutes — the operating name of the Insurance Institute of America and the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters — comes at a time when the insurance industry is facing a potential tsunami of retirements, with estimates running into the hundreds of thousands during the next decade.

Those jobs will have to be filled. But as Institutes President and CEO Peter Miller pointed out at the formal launch of MyPath last week, millennials “really don't know much about this industry.” The second part of the initiative's title — “Insurance: It's Limitless” — should help fill some of that knowledge void.

College students and others seeking jobs may not consider insurance as a first, second or even third career choice. That's because compared to some other professions like finance, insurance simply isn't sexy. Say “insurance” to a student, and odds are the first thing that comes to mind is the caricature of a life insurance salesman hawking policies, if anything at all pops to mind.

The MyPath initiative hopes to help change that perception with its website, featuring such things as available internships, and a planned advertising campaign.

The trick is to get a new generation to think of insurance in a more positive way. Most careers in insurance involve problem solving in some form, whether it be underwriting an account, providing the most appropriate coverage for a client or finding a solution to a complex risk management challenge.

Risk and insurance management departments at colleges and universities across the country are providing a way for students to learn about the discipline. MyPath can build upon that, even as it joins other industry and company initiatives to attract top talent to insurance.

MyPath is drawing support from across the insurance industry, and deservedly so. It's a promising effort that should help convince students that insurance and risk management can indeed become their career path.