Educating the Actuaries of the Future · 2014. 6. 20. · –e.g. compound interest, statistics, accounts, economics, life contingencies •Core Applications: CA1 –Actuarial Risk

Dr Trevor Watkins

Director of Education

16 June 2014

Educating the Actuaries of the Future

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Education role in 3 parts

• Preparing qualified actuaries who are ‘fit for purpose’

– Recruit appropriate ‘share of talent’

– Qualify the right people

• Maintaining standards

– Benchmarking – against Society of Actuaries (US)

– Leading international qualification – half new trainees from overseas

• Developing system for the future

– Develop syllabus with wide consultation

– Appropriate skill sets

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Student numbers by country

Country Number

UK 5920

India 2970

Ireland 675

RSA 544

Kenya 423

PR China 354

Malaysia 261

Singapore 260

Zimbabwe 186

Hong Kong 103


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Assessments • Work-related skills

– Work-Based Skills (WBS)

• Examination subjects

– 9 Core Technical (CT)

– 3 Core Applications (CA)

– 2 Specialist Technical (ST)

– 1 Specialist Application (SA)

• Including practical exams

– Business awareness (CT9)

– Model documentation, analysis and reporting (CA2)

– Communications (CA3)

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Written Exams – Core Topics

• All of the following:

• Core Technical: CT1 – CT8

– Technical actuarial tools

– e.g. compound interest, statistics, accounts, economics, life

contingencies

• Core Applications: CA1

– Actuarial Risk Management

– Application of business concepts including investment/assets, life and

general insurance, and pensions

– Focus on risk management techniques

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Written Exams – Specialist Topics

Subject Specialist

Technical

TWO of:

Specialist

Applications

ONE of:

Practice

Module

ONE of:

Health & Care ST1 SA1 P1

Life Insurance ST2 SA2 P2

General Insurance ST7, ST8 SA3 P3

Pensions ST4 SA4 P4

Finance n/a SA5 P5

Investment ST5 SA6 P6

Derivatives ST6 n/a n/a

Risk Management ST9 n/a n/a

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A global community –

September 2013 Session

• 26 exams of which students need 15 to qualify

• 12,516 entries from 9,289 students (out of 13,127 registered

students)

• 168 exam centres in 81 countries

• 100 volunteer Examiners who set papers in teams

• 185 volunteer Markers involved in double blind marking each paper

• 354 entered ST9 (ERM) for CERA award

• 623entered CT1 as non-members

• 229 qualified as Fellows


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Written Exams – Tips for success

• Before the exam:

– Plan study time – use of study leave

– Study course fully – in good time!

– Know and understand the material

– Do practice questions

• ActEd assignments – get them marked

• Past exam papers

• During the exam:

– Time management/planning

– Use sub-headings, bullet points for ‘wordy’ questions

– Answer the specific question asked

– Don’t panic!

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Written Exams – Support network • Peer Group

– Study groups, peer pressure, website forum

• Employer

– Study allowance, study mentor

• Tuition provider: ActEd

– Enhanced material, assignments, tutorials, revision material, mock

exams

• Friends and family

– Practice your communication skills on non-actuaries!

• Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

– Examination counselling, appeals, general enquiries

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Working with Universities – Accreditation

• Currently 17 Accredited Universities

• Broader range of courses now available, including part-time

and distance learning courses

• Equivalence – more scope for universities’ expertise in

teaching, learning and assessment

• Monitoring – by Independent Examiners, Staff Actuaries,

employers, students

• Tracking of subsequent progress with Profession’s exams


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Work Based Skills (WBS) - Aims

• Interaction between theory and practice

• Commercial environment

• Professionalism & ethics

• Communication

• Management skills

• Public need for competence

• Continuing development

• Reflection and self-assessment

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WBS – Learning logs

• Examples on website www.actuaries.org.uk

• Answer work-related questions ~ 1,000 words

• Questions relate to the following skills:

– Technical, judgement, professional/ethical, communication,

commercial, IT, management

• 12 questions overall, over 3 years

• Submit to Registry in Oxford

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WBS – Sample questions

• Technical

– Describe something you have worked on that required the use of data.

How did you validate the data?

• Professional

– Describe a case you have encountered which raised ethical concerns in

your mind. How did you approach the resulting professional issues and

how were any difficulties resolved?

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What do employers want?

– A good academic record – usually a maths A level at Grade B or A, and a 2:1 at degree level

– Work experience/internships

– 47% of employers say that “it would be unlikely” that they would hire a candidate if they had no work experience (doesn’t have to be actuarial) *High Fliers research, 2012

– Good communication skills

– IT skills

– An interest in business/relevant industry knowledge

– Commitment to the exams and your career

– Enthusiasm


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The future

• Should the syllabus be more specialised or more broad based?

• Should there be more focus on the UK or be more global?

• What should the balance be between technical and softer skills?

• What is the role of university provision going forward?

• Should we move away from traditional exams to more open book or

coursework based assessment?

• Should assessments be hand-written or computer based?

• How can we develop further online delivery securely and accurately?

• What will be the impact of the Analyst qualification?

Documents

Educating the Actuaries of the Future · 2014. 6. 20. · –e.g. compound interest, statistics, accounts, economics, life contingencies •Core Applications: CA1 –Actuarial Risk