Induction courses

ActEd runs public induction courses and in-house induction courses in September and October each year to give new actuarial students a flying start to the early subjects, as well as introducing and developing the basic actuarial skills that new students will use in the office.

ActEd runs popular three-day public induction courses in London each year. These courses run for three consecutive days and cover some material from Subjects CT1, CT3, CT4, CT5 and CT6.

The induction courses provide a mixture of interactive presentation of ideas and question practice with homework exercises in the evening. The ActEd tutor is on hand throughout the course to help with any particular problems the students may have and give general advice about studying.

ActEd runs public induction courses and in-house induction courses in September and October each year.

The course covers the following areas:

(i) A reminder of important topics from A-Level (or equivalent) Mathematics

(ii) An introduction to Subject CT3 (Probability and Mathematical Statistics)

• Probability distributions (discrete and continuous)
• Random variables
• Expectation and variance

(iii) An introduction to the main topics of Subject CT1 (Financial Mathematics)

• Compound interest calculations
• Convertible rates of interest
• Actuarial notation

(iv) An introduction to Subject CT5 (Contingencies)

• Annuity and assurance functions
• Premium calculations

(v) Other topics

• "Life Tables" (Subject CT4 - Models)
• Compound distributions (Subject CT6 - Statistical Methods)

(vi) A short session on effective study and exam skills. The tutor will discuss possible routes through the exams with students who are unsure which subjects to take, and will highlight the exam and study techniques that students will need to develop.

(vii) A short mock exam on the last afternoon of the course, containing a wide range of exam-style questions. The mock exam will emphasise the importance of understanding, accuracy and speed, and will prevent students from developing any complacency in their approach to their actuarial studies.

Employers sending students on this course will receive feedback on their students’ performance during the three days and an interpretation of the marks obtained in the mock exam.

Students who have attended ActEd induction courses in the past have found that they went away with the foundations of their knowledge of the early subjects firmly laid, and with a clear idea of how their studying pattern needed to develop over the forthcoming year        

For employers with a larger number of new actuarial students, we also run in-house induction courses. These can be tailored more closely to the needs of an individual employer and can be incorporated into the employer’s current induction programme. For example, sessions on the subject material can be interspersed with other internal training sessions.

These courses are usually cost-effective for organisations with more than about 10 new students, although we would be happy to work with smaller groups. In-house courses often represent better value to an employer than paying for several students to travel to a public course.

Please ring Bev Butler at ActEd on 01235 550005 if you would like to discuss in-house induction courses in more detail.

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