Tags: The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Singapore Actuarial Society, actuary, Life Insurance Association, Singapore, Nanyang Technological University

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) and Singapore Actuarial Society (SAS) jointly organised a roundtable on employment opportunities with representatives from Nanyang Technological University, the Life Insurance Association and several employers of actuaries in Singapore.

The first session considered the future of insurance in light of these evolving risks:
• Societal
• Technological
• Economic
• Environmental
• Political

We then discussed what actuaries need to do to update their toolkit and enable them to respond to these influences. For example, enhancing their programming and predicative analysis skills, as well as honing their communication skills.

The participants were in agreement that one of the main advances that the actuarial profession needs to respond to is science. science provides the actuarial profession with a massive opportunity. However, in order to capitalise on the opportunities and in addition to updating the toolkit of an actuary, we need to reposition them within the science field.

Actuaries will have to differentiate themselves from others in this field and promote their combination of technical knowledge, business acumen and professionalism to remain relevant amidst the rise of the scientist.

To help actuaries continue to be highly sought after by employers, the IFoA:
• has held a webinar the use of big for understanding longevity and morbidity that you can watch online;
• will be hosting our first ever virtual conference on 5 November, which will be on science; and
• has created a ‘one-stop shop’ of online resources and courses for actuaries and actuarial students wishing to develop their skills in science.