CHICAGO — As the insurance sector continues to change and fragment, young people entering the industry have great prospects if they are prepared to specialize and work hard, said Patrick G. Ryan, chairman and CEO of Ryan Specialty Group L.L.C.

Unlike investment banking and commercial banking, which are subject to cyclical trends, insurance offers the prospect of full employment for an entire career, he said.

But to ensure that talented young people enter the industry, the leaders of brokers and underwriters have to make it a personal mission to recruit them, Mr. Ryan said.

He was speaking in Chicago at the annual joint luncheon of the Chicago Chapters of the CPCU Society and the Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc., the Association of Lloyd's Brokers and the LaSalle Street Club.

The fragmentation in the industry, with more private equity funds looking to invest in insurance entities and increased consolidation among insurers, creates more opportunities for employees at industry companies, Mr. Ryan said.

“When you have a shortage of talent it's because there are so many new opportunities and there will be many more new opportunities,” he said.

And people who enter the industry are given the opportunity to quickly learn a specialized skill, such as underwriting or actuarial skills, Mr. Ryan said.

“When you enter this industry and you develop a specific skill … when you develop that skill you are employable for life,” he said. This is in contrast to people who enter the banking sector, who often find that “when the investment banks get into trouble, they are on the street.”

Senior executives in the insurance industry have to make it their own responsibility to reach out to young people to attract them to the insurance sector, Mr. Ryan said. When he headed what is now Aon P.LC., Mr. Ryan said he made it a personal goal to recruit 40 people a year.

And the future is bright for people entering the insurance sector, he said.

“In my 56 years in our industry, I've never been more bullish about our future,” Mr. Ryan said.