Telephone: 0870 243 9023 Fax: 0870 243 9024 Email:
ACTUARIAL YEAR OUT PLACEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
THE OPPORTUNITIES
Alpha Consulting has approximately 6 placement year opportunities within Life and Pensions dotted around various locations in the UK.
Our clients' requirements are as follows:-
Candidates must be purely from the UK or wider EEA and speak good English
Minimum A level points of 320 if hold 3 A levels, 420 if hold 4 A levels and an A in Maths is a prerequisite
Expecting a 2:1 or 1st class Degree in a Mathematical or related discipline
Candidates must want to pursue an Actuarial career
If not studying an Actuarial Science degree will be useful to have chosen modules which carry exemptions from The Institute or Faculty of Actuaries Exams
Candidates should be flexible in regards to their location requirements
If interested please forward CVs to in the first instance, please read CV tip document first. Closing date 19 May 2006.
FEEDBACK FROM PAST STUDENTS
PRUDENTIAL
"Things are going well at Prudential! It's been mostly training so far but we're starting to get more work to do now. We've been getting trained to use the MoSes programme which I've been told will look great on my CV so I'm very pleased about that! There are also many actuarial students who are happy to answer all my questions on exams, studying and what to expect in fourth year which has been very helpful!" Student FM
“Work is going really well and I’m really getting my teeth stuck into it now! Everybody on the team has been so helpful and it's been so good to get a proper insight into what an actuary really does, it has definitely been one of the best decisions I have ever made to take this year out and I know how valuable the experience will be when it comes to applying for jobs after graduating!” Student GR
HSBC
“Below is a list of the positive outcomes from the sandwich placement.
- Enabled me to understand how the modules I did at university were related to Actuarial work.
- Gave me further understanding of what actuaries do in their daily role.
- Enabled me to make a decision on whether the Actuarial career was for me.
- Enabled me to gain contacts with people doing actuarial exams and how to balance studying for the exams with work.
- Helped me in "networking" with actuaries and actuarial students.” Student RS
“Working at HSBC in Southampton was a great experience. Not only did I gain experience within the Actuarial field, living away from home I became a lot more independent.” Student RP
“The placement was a fantastic experience in my opinion. My then colleagues have provided me with a wealth of information and knowledge which will definitely contribute to my future development and endeavours. The work that was done was very satisfying and fulfilling.” Student IC
“Overall, the sandwich placement was very valuable to me. It provided me with good hands-on experience of what an actuarial trainee does.
I really enjoyed working for HSBC, and the people I worked with contributed a lot to this end. They were approachable and always willing to help. The skills I acquired are mainly a result of their sharing of
knowledge and my willingness to ask questions (and sound stupid). Just to give you an idea, over the last year, my work consisted of the following:
1. Compiling data for surveys
2. Compiling competitors' rates and illustrating our market position
3. Starting a Reinsurance Filing system which was used as an audit trail
4. Answering queries from Customer Services, investigating 'problem' cases and dealing with issues found
5. Creating Test Cases for IT
6. Rebuilding a 'Quotes Program' for use by Customer Services
7. Creating Graphs for managers to illustrate how products compared with each other and against the market
More actuarial stuff included:
8. Sensitivity runs to analyse effect on profitability of basis changes
9. Profitability runs to test reinsurance rates
10. Setting up runs for reprices” Student BM
“I believe that the experience one attains during the sandwich placements is valuable. Personally, I learnt a lot during my placement. Most of the stuff taught at university made a lot of sense. It's nothing
like getting the practical experience. The working environment also helps you develop certain skills that employers require that you will otherwise not get in the classroom, examples of which are interpersonal skills, communication skills, teamworking abilities, proactive skills etc.
You also get the opportunity to brace yourself with knowledge of at least one of the actuarial software’s that is used in the office. I had the chance to be trained on two of the actuarial software’s, VIP and MoSes.
You also are able to meet a lot of actuarial students and actuaries with whom you can network. This is also advantageous for future employment.
The sandwich placement is something I will recommend to many students.” Student FA
“Overall I've had a fantastic time so far. The work is excellent I thought I would get good experience but a lot of it would be minor jobs but that hasn't been the case I have really been doing exactly the same work as any graduate would be doing. The people at HSBC are mostly very friendly and like to "work hard and play hard" just like me! The only down side so far has been the boredom in the run up to actuarial exams due to the fact that I don't really know anyone outside work.
That aside, I would still recommend it to anyone.” Student GB
“At university I did not know the answer to the question, what does an actuary do? Since working at HSBC Life as a sandwich scheme student, I now have a better understanding of the question. More specifically I now know the different types of roles actuaries do in a Life company. There is also the insight I have seen into how a life company is organised and managed. I have witnessed the "ordeal" actuarial students endure in order to qualify as an actuary.” Student MM
“I’m enjoying my sandwich year at HSBC very much. It is a great opportunity to get an insight of the actuarial career and to make new friends. I’m doing real actuarialwork, talked to many people in this industry and havemade many friends. Thanks for your help and support during my application and my placement!” Student TC
“I think the sandwich scheme is quite useful for students looking to gain experience in the industry as students really get involved in actual work and are treated the same as graduates in terms of the work. The work is relatively interesting and helps in deciding the sector to go into or even not go into. The holidays offered are on par with others and this is definitely a positive. Overall, I think it is a useful experience for students.” Student HP
AXA
“I am really enjoying my placement with AXA. I am working in pricing team which involves pricing pension schemes for clients.
It is proving to be a great experience of my life. It is very interesting to see the practical side of actuarial concepts which I learnt at university.
Overall it has been a very good experience and would definitely recommend it to everyone.” Student MS
“My experience of the year out has so far been very positive, learning a lot of things about working life as well as applying all the knowledge I learnt at university in a real world application. As far as I am concerned, I would definitely recommend any 2nd year student to take a year out and especially from alpha consulting since the whole process of finding a job was made so much easier.” Student BM
NFU
“I am really pleased that I have had the opportunity to sample life in the actuarial profession for a year between my final years at university. It has given me great insight into what being an actuary really means and abolished some of the preconceptions of the industry (i.e. actuarial students lives revolve around work/study, etc) During this placement, I have worked in an environment with a selection of qualified and student actuaries and have been able to learn a great deal from them. I also believe that I will return to university this year with greater depth and knowledge, which I know can only benefit my studies.” Student AM
Company Registration No. 4181931 EnglandWales. Registered Office: 23 Royal York Crescent, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 4JX.
Directors: Mark Heller BSc FIA David Crawford BSc Richard Stock BSc FIA