Educating Actuaries of the Future

Abstract

The quality of the education of actuarial students is discussed from the perspective of the International Actuarial Association, its member associations and external education providers. This discussion is grounded in a literature review of what an actuary is and what the purpose of an actuarial education is. Further literature review and a new pilot study are undertaken on the views of graduates of actuarial programs and of employers in Australia of the quality of actuarial education. These demonstrate that the lack of teaching technical material in a business context and the lack of development of non-technical skills such as communication are the most significant defects of current frameworks. As a result, initial recommendations are made that actuarial education be explicitly aligned with the definition and capabilities of an actuary and that constraints to effective educational practice be removed. It is desired that this paper might result in further dialogue and collaboration in the development of an improved approach to actuarial education worldwide.