Pensions Actuary Review

Very enjoyable couple of weeks. Went through a lot of varied work each day and by the end of the four weeks I'd experienced a wide array of what work is done on the job. Aside from work, there were a number of socials with the team, which many people attended and these were all really fun.

The team I worked with were all very encouraging throughout, I was guided through the basics in the first week and from then on I was able to complete work that was useful to the company and any such work I did was praised, they also recognized particular strengths and assigned tasks accordingly.

The amount of support I received during the time was consistently high. During my first week I went though a number of training sessions introducing me to the work that took place. Then as time went on I was slowly introduced to new areas and tasks, which I was shown how to do then allowed to have a go at myself with the ability to asks questions along the way,

First day was a general introduction to the company and the core values and how the scheme would run over the four weeks. They outlined what we would be doing and we each received a 'passport' which outlined a number of objectives we should aim to complete. We also had regular meetings with a senior member of staff to make sure we were on the right tracks.

Atmosphere in the office had a good balance. Upon arriving, I had an office tour to meet everyone on the team and everyone was friendly. During work hours people were focused but still in an approachable way, I was never made to feel like people were too busy to ask a question. During lunch times and socials everyone was really relaxed and inclusive.

Throughout the scheme I was given various training sessions which helped develop my technical ability and introduce me to new areas that I lacked experience in. A number of colleagues also gave up an hour or two to sit down and talk with me about particular topics, even though they were all busy. They also gave us time to go to any training sessions in other offices and travel expenses were paid.

Before the scheme I had researched the role in question but didn't have any real specific idea of what an actuary really did day to day and what it meant to work in pensions and why they are such a large area. I was given lots of information on how I would be supported when I joined and what types of tasks I would be doing as a full time graduate as well as lots of information on the study/exams required.

The scheme was paid a good wage for the four weeks, we was paid promptly too. On top of this they supplied everyone with a daily lunch allowance which could be used in the office canteen, this made the costs for the week reduce considerably. Furthermore, anytime that we needed to leave the office to go for training or for the induction day, we could keep our receipts and put them on expenses for a full re reimbursement.

On the first day we had an introduction with everyone on the scheme, at the end of this day there was a few hours put aside for drinks to chat and network. They also ran a training day which concluded with a boat party for all the people on the scheme, this was very fun. Further to this, my individual office put on a number of socials such as a going to a trampoline park for the evening with drinks after.