By S. Vicneswary,
Senior Communications and Outreach Advisor,
Global Asia Insurance Partnership
29 November 2023
In the dynamic landscape of today's global economy, the demand for skilled professionals in fields such as actuarial science and risk analytics is steadily on the rise. To guide aspiring individuals toward a successful career path in these burgeoning fields, the Global-Asia Insurance Partnership (GAIP) and NTU Nanyang Business School hosted an information session to provide insights into the exciting world of actuarial science and risk analytics.
The exclusive information session was held for polytechnic lecturers, junior college teachers and Education and Career Guidance (ECG) counsellors to raise their awareness of actuarial science and risk analytics disciplines. About 60 educators attended the session held on 14 November 2023 at Marina Bay Sands.
The intent of the session was to promote actuarial science and risk analytics as potential fields of study among students, said GAIP Senior Director Min Hung Cheng.
"One of GAIP's key pillar is Talent Development, where we aim to grow and nurture a pipeline of skilled insurance talent with professional development and support upskilling in emerging areas. While we don't aim to have five-year-olds saying they want to become actuaries or risk managers or work in the insurance field when they grow up, our aim is to raise awareness and prominence of insurance as a career."
"Actuaries are a highly regarded profession worldwide. The actuarial profession has been ranked within the best three jobs in the US based on factors such as income, prospects, security, stress, and work environment. The Actuarial Science Programme offered by NTU is the only programme in Singapore to be accredited by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. This session allowed us to share more about these disciplines with educators," said Shinichi Kamiya, Associate Professor in Risk and Insurance at NTU.
The information session concluded with a panel discussion highlighting the growing demand for career opportunities in the fields of actuarial science and risk analytics, and a Q&A session. The attendees left with a newfound appreciation for the dynamism of the profession and its potential to make a tangible difference in addressing the uncertainties of tomorrow.
"It was an interesting and well-organised event. We found out more about this specialisation that we never knew about before today. Based on the speakers' remarks, it seems that actuarial science and risk analytics are unique specialisations and highly respected disciplines. While we are keen to speak to our students about what was shared today, it will also be helpful for NTU and GAIP to conduct learning journeys for students to engage them and allow them to find out more," remarked a junior college teacher.
"The event was informative and the various sharing by the speakers gave good insights into the opportunities available in the niche fields of actuarial and risk analytics fields. We are exploring ways to connect with businesses for internships for our junior college students, and potentially I think it will be good to have JC and Integrated Programme students do job shadowing in these fields as well," said a Lead ECG Counselling Manager from the Ministry of Education.
This information session is one of the many events that GAIP collaborates with NTU to raise awareness on risk-related disciplines and career opportunities. In June this year, the NTU-GAIP Case Study Competition was organised for universities, junior college, and polytechnic students across Singapore. Teams were tasked to assess unique protection gap challenges faced by gig economy workers and develop potential solutions to reduce the gap.
Looking ahead, GAIP and NTU have set our sights on a grander stage for the Case Competition for the upcoming year.
Read more about the Case Competition here
