Hi All, Need some advice on this one. I just receied confirmation of my acceptance as a Student of the Institute. I have query with respect to the Work Based Skills. Presently I am an Engineer working in a non Actuarial Environment with an Electronics Multinational. I am studying to take 2 CT exams in September and I will be applying for Trainee Actuary positions from now onwards. At present I am not in a position to start the Work Based Skills log as I am not yet employed as a Trainee Actaury. 1) Can I still apply to sit exams in September if I haven't started a Worked Based Skills log. 2) In my present situation what is the best way forward with respect to this log, I have heard that it can be deferred until I get a trainee Actuary position and does not effect or impact on me sitting the exams. Appreciate your thoughts.
I think the best way to find out is to ask the Institute. I believe the email address wbs@actuaries.org.uk, but you should probably check this. I believe there was a notice not too long ago that said exam entries would not be allowed from April 2008 exams without submission of a WBS supervisor form. My opinion is that they should make an exception in your case. However if you really need to, I think it may be possible to start the log in a "non-actuarial" role because some of the key skills they are looking for do not apply to actuaries alone, eg ICT, management, communication. That being said, it may be a bit awkward (and not really worth the extra effort in my opinion) to ask your current employer to act as a supervisor. Email the Institute and hopefully you get a response.
Note - I am not doing an exam this April, due to the fact that my second child is due any day now. I'll do CT3 in September instead. I am in a similar position to you - I'm not currently working as a trainee actuary - I emailed wbs@actuaries.org.uk to say this is why I didn't have a Work Based Skills log - although I never heard back from them, I did see on my site profile that I could book an exam this April. Best thing to do is to simply email them and explain the situation - the rule is the Institute must either have a WBS log or a reason why they don't. Yours is a perfectly valid reason, so let them know. Good luck in the exams! Thomas
afaik you can just tell the Institute you want to defer starting WBS and then you will be able to enter the exams. (there must be a form for this) They just want to hear from everyone I guess to show you are aware of WBS. I'd just wait 'til you get an actuarial position before commencing, and any exams in the meantime will simply stand you in good stead.
Yes it's true you can tell them you are deferring and that will be fine. Not sure how long you can defer - never seen anything about that. But I guess if you don't get a trainee spot this year you are likely to get fed up of the size of the fees you have to self fund. Definitely the right idea to try an exam solo though. It proves you are serious and also the fact you know about the WBS regime could also stand you in good stead. All the best with the sitting and finding the post of your dreams.
