Actuaries on the Move
 
Actuaries on the Move: Establishment

The Diversity Committee was established to address the shortage of black actuaries in South Africa. Research done by others and the by Diversity Committee identified the items listed below as the major problems commonly experienced by actuarial students from previously disadvantaged communities.

• The high standard of mathematical achievement required for admission into a university Actuarial Science programme is not generally prevalent in schools in previously disadvantaged communities.
• The number of black high school students who take Higher Grade Mathematics in the Senior Certificate is very small, with even smaller numbers passing, and the number of A symbols is negligible.
• There is a very high dropout and failure rate in university Actuarial Science programmes, aggravated by the long and strenuous course of study and examinations required by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries for qualification as an actuary.
• The profession is virtually unknown in previously disadvantaged communities. Potential actuaries from these communities are aware of the medical, accounting, engineering and auditing professions and therefore pursue qualifications in these professions.

Most companies that employ actuaries or actuarial students provide academic bursaries. Legislative and other requirements mean that there is a bias in favour of students from previously disadvantaged communities. Financial problems, although very real, were therefore not dealt with in this exercise.

Decisions such as not to distribute discriminating job advertisements and not to make provision for race details on the database reflected ASSA’s position of non-discrimination. During the second half of the 1990s, the ASSA Council realised that more urgent, active measures were required in order to make the profession demographically representative.

A first project was launched as a pilot scheme at the University of Cape Town in January 2000. Towards the end of 2000, the Actuarial Society Council decided to establish a committee to promote initiatives aimed at increasing the membership diversity of the profession. Responsibility for the initiative at the University of Cape Town was also given to the ASSA Diversity Committee.

In addressing the lack of black actuaries in South Africa, the Diversity Committee is of the opinion that interventions are required at school, university and workplace levels.

The Committee established the following criteria for such interventions:

The focus should be predominantly on truly disadvantaged black communities.

Outcomes achieved by the intervention should be measured objectively, and this information should be fed back into the intervention in future.

Unless a comprehensive study of the problems and solutions has been undertaken, it is prudent to start projects on a pilot basis, and then grow them into national initiatives as they yield the required results.

The programme must make a contribution to producing black actuaries. It is accepted that some candidates, having gone through a programme, will decide not to pursue an actuarial career. If a Diversity Committee project, however, placed such a candidate in a position to pursue a career (s)he would not have been able to pursue without participation in that project, it would be regarded as a positive side-effect and a desirable contribution to the community.

The Diversity Committee developed, or became involved formally in, foru major projects. These are the Committee's flagship project, i.e. the Metropolitan Life/Actuarial Society Schools Project: Actuaries on the Move, the Interprovincial Mathematics Olympiad for High Schools, co-sponsorship of TurboMaths and Turbophysics, and the Mentorship Scheme for Actuarial Science Students from Previously Disadvantaged Communities. The Committee has also developed an educator training project.

When the Committee's activities were incorporated in other initiatives, the members were: Hillary Murashiki (c), Mark Barberini, Sumesh Chetty, David Jewell, Themba Gamedze, Nimol Rajkumar, Giles Waugh, Wim Els.

Actuaries on the Move: Results

The pilot group of learners matriculated in 2003. The group comprised 40 learners in 2001, but three learners chose to terminate participation in the programme. All 37 passed their matric exams, with three attaining an A aggregate and four achieving 90% or more for Mathematics Higher Grade. Of the 37 candidates, 20 obtained 60% or more for Mathematics HG. In addition, Martin Mpaphuli obtained the highest marks in the whole of Gauteng for Physics HG, as well as the second highest marks for the whole of Gauteng for Mathematics HG.

These excellent results set a very high standard. Every year, however, the results improved. In 2007, for example, 18 of the 51 candidates in the KwaZulu-Natal branch of the project obtained A symbols for Mathematics Higher Grade!

The programme currently runs in Soshanguve, Soweto, Umlazi, Khayelitsha and Botshabelo.

Click here to read about our Sowetan Success Story