At a recent NZAGE Forum Event April 2026, members heard from Suncorp Graduate Talent Lead Kelly Pfeffer, sharing how the award-winning graduate programme at Suncorp Group has been designed, scaled, and continuously improved across Australia and New Zealand.

Suncorp’s programme was recognised by the NZAGE as the 2025 Best Large Graduate Development Programme, with a model built around clarity of purpose, structured development, and ongoing refinement rather than one-off design.

A business shift that reshaped the programme

A key context for the programme is Suncorp’s transition into a pure insurance business following the sale of its banking arm in 2024. This shift created both a challenge and an opportunity.

Insurance is not an industry students typically study toward directly. At the same time, it is a sector that can be entered through a wide range of disciplines.

This required a deliberate focus on:

• increasing awareness of insurance as a career path
• building early capability quickly once graduates join
• helping graduates connect their work to customers and outcomes

The organisation also moved toward a more aligned trans-Tasman operating model, bringing Australia and New Zealand closer together in terms of systems and approach, while still operating across multiple locations.

Programme structure and intent

The programme is two years in duration, with graduates joining as permanent employees from day one.

This decision is deliberate and designed to:

• reinforce long-term investment in graduates
• ensure leaders take ownership of development outcomes
• remove the perception of graduates as temporary resource

Graduates complete up to four six-month rotations, although the programme is effectively structured as a “one plus one” model:

• Year one focuses on exposure, learning, and capability building
• Year two focuses on applying capability and transitioning into permanent roles

Graduates can move into roles as soon as they are ready, rather than being required to complete the full programme.

Designing for progression, not completion

A key principle is that the programme is not designed to retain graduates for a fixed period. It is designed to accelerate them into meaningful roles within the business.

This is reflected in:

• early exposure across business areas
• structured capability development aligned to organisational behaviours
• encouragement to apply for roles in the second year rather than waiting for programme completion

Promotion and progression are treated as expected outcomes, not exceptions, with a significant proportion of cohorts moving into permanent roles within the business well before the end of the programme.

Onboarding and early experience

Onboarding is deliberately staggered to avoid overload.

Rather than delivering large volumes of content upfront, Suncorp spreads onboarding over several weeks with short, focused sessions prioritised by importance.

Key design choices include:

• graduates join their teams on day one
• programme learning is introduced gradually alongside real work
• virtual sessions are kept short and spaced out

This approach is based on feedback that early overload reduces retention and makes integration into teams more difficult.

Graduates also complete mandatory compliance training alongside their early development.

Using recruitment insight to shape learning

A distinctive feature of the programme is the use of recruitment data to inform learning design.

For each cohort, insights from:

• assessments
• interviews
• selection processes

are aggregated and used to identify strengths and development areas.

This information is then used to:

• prioritise learning topics
• shape virtual development sessions
• involve graduates in selecting areas of focus for webinars

This creates a feedback loop between recruitment and development, ensuring each cohort experience is tailored rather than standardised.

Learning design and delivery

Learning is structured to be light-touch but targeted.

Key elements include:

• short virtual webinars based on cohort needs
• a small number of focused development sessions per year
• integration with broader organisational learning offerings

Rather than duplicating existing learning across the business, the programme actively leverages enterprise-wide capability development, encouraging graduates to participate in broader initiatives such as innovation and learning academies.

Connection and cohort experience

With graduates spread across six locations, most engagement is virtual.

Connection is maintained through:

• monthly short cohort check-ins
• structured committees led by graduates
• an ambassador network supporting campus engagement

The only major in-person experience is the Thrive graduate conference, held in Brisbane around the three-month mark for first-year graduates.

This timing is intentional, allowing graduates to:

• settle into their roles
• understand the business context
• engage more meaningfully in shared learning

The conference brings the cohort together for structured learning and networking, and is supported by senior leaders.

Graduate-led structures

Two formal graduate committees support programme design:

• a community committee focused on social connection and events
• a learning committee focused on capability development activities

These groups are responsible for proposing and organising initiatives such as guest speakers, workshops, and development sessions, with programme oversight and budget support provided by the central team.

An ambassador network also supports recruitment activity, with graduates engaging directly with universities and student societies across Australia and New Zealand.

Role of leaders and governance

Programme governance is shared through stream-based committees made up of business leaders.

These committees:

• review graduate preferences
• balance development needs with business requirements
• approve rotation decisions

This ensures rotations are not based solely on preference, but on a combination of capability development and business opportunity.

Measurement and outcomes

Success is measured through a combination of:

• engagement and pulse surveys
• learning satisfaction
• promotion and progression rates
• retention within the organisation and broader industry

Retention is treated as contextual data rather than a single success metric. A key insight is that graduate sentiment shifts over time, particularly around the 12 to 18 month mark, when attention turns to next steps and progression pathways. This has led to more structured support during this stage of the programme.

Continuous improvement approach

The programme has evolved over several years through incremental change rather than large-scale redesign.

The approach is:

• focus on a small number of improvements each year
• implement and embed changes properly
• communicate outcomes internally

This internal communication is seen as critical to building trust and securing ongoing support for the programme.

Key principles

Across the programme design, several principles are consistent:

• clarity of expectations from the start
• structured but flexible development pathways
• early ownership for graduates
• integration with real work rather than separation from it
• continuous, incremental improvement

The programme continues to evolve each year based on cohort feedback, business needs, and organisational change.

Congratulations again Kelly and the team at Suncorp Group on winning Best Large Graduate Development Programme 2025!

NZAGE Members – make sure you keep an eye on our upcoming NZAGE forum sessions. They continue to provide practical, real-world insight into how early careers programmes are being designed and refined across the sector.

All upcoming events are published in our newsletters and on our LinkedIn page.