A Survey of actuarial graduates’ views on their education

This paper presents the results of a survey of recent graduates of some Australian university actuarial programs. The survey aimed to shed light on graduates’ views relating to their education since leaving university. The findings from our work can be used by those currently reviewing actuarial education programs in Australia. There is a strong view that the technical content of Part I courses is useful in the employment areas targeted by those courses, but there are concerns with the level of feedback provided to students. The Part II results indicated a much higher satisfaction with the content than the Part I courses in preparing students for employment. The Part III courses were not rated as highly as the Part I and II courses, and the teaching quality and feedback were particularly criticised, but they score well on relevance to employment. Well over 50% of graduates considered non-technical training as very important for their readiness for employment. While there is considerable support for provision of training in some non-technical skills, in most cases there is no clear majority opinion as to how this should be provided.