The application for the second actuarial base study has started. Courses can be free of charge if the participants qualify for the grant. Such courses were organized by the Society of Actuaries of Kazakhstan and the life insurance company NOMAD LIFE for the first time in Kazakhstan. The contest was supported by the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Final-year students and graduates of Kazakh physical-mathematical, technical faculties with high academic performance will be able to take part in elimination round for the grant. In total 16 applications were currently submitted for the basic study. The group will not exceed 40 people. The courses will last three weeks, at the end of the fourth week the students will have to pass the qualification exam.
It is planned that the second basic study course will be launched on July 16. By the way, the first basic course was launched on June 11. About 40 listeners are going to get qualitative knowledge of actuarial activity.
"Through educational courses we want to support talented young people of Kazakhstani and contribute to the training of highly qualified personnel for the financial market of the country. According to the estimates the market is currently in acute shortage of actuaries. In this regard, it was decided through grants to enable young people to obtain qualitative knowledge of actuarial activities. We hope that this initiative will stimulate the development of the insurance market, push the financial sector of Kazakhstan", said Kairat Chegebayev, the Chairman of the board of JSC "LIC "NOMAD LIFE", the full member of the Society of Actuaries of Kazakhstan.
Actuaries are multilateral specialists, analysts who have good theoretical training and applied skills in such sciences as mathematics, statistics, economics, demography, probability theory and finance. The training program for actuaries was developed by the world's leading experts: Michael Zee (FSA, FCIA), Charles MacLeod (FSA, FCIA, MAAA), John Shepherd (member of the Australian Institute of Actuaries). Society of Actuaries of Kazakhstan has held actuarial courses since 2001. Their graduates are especially in demand in insurance companies, banks and pension funds. The certificate issued by the Society at the end of the course is valid worldwide, as the Society of Actuaries of Kazakhstan is an associate member of the Society of Actuaries (SOA).
Mirbolat Sikhov, Head of the Department of Fundamental Mathematics of the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Al Farabi National University, Doctor of Physics and Mathematics, who will be training students on the courses, emphasizes that demand for actuaries is now quite high. "In the early 2000s, the National Bank organized actuarial courses with the USAID support. The courses were prepared by leading international class actuaries. Since 2004, similar courses have already been conducted with participation of Kazakhstani actuaries. At first, this study was partially sponsored by USAID, but later the funding was limited, actuarial courses became paid, pretty expensive, by the way. The talented youth could no longer participate in them. Unfortunately, the actuaries have not been trained during the last 5-6 years. This situation led to the fact that insurance companies began to feel a clear deficit in actuaries. The situation can change due to the "LIC “NOMAD LIFE” that has allocated educational grants for actuarial courses", he believes.
By the way, as Mirbolat Sikhov noted actuaries are in demand even at the macroeconomic level. "In the global economy, crises are cyclical, with actuarial knowledge one can predict certain events in the economy with a certain probability. Therefore, actuaries are in demand not only in insurance organizations, but also in the pension market, banks, and the investment field. Actuaries and professionals associated with this profession (underwriters, risk managers) are among the most demanded and highly paid professions in developed countries", the source underlines.
Note that citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan, born not earlier than 1994, final-year Bachelor degree students or graduates, or postgraduates with a good GPA (average score), are allowed to take part in the competition. Priority disciplines are mathematics and physics. Also, the selection will take into account the prize places in academic competitions, projects in mathematics, physics and the availability of free time to listen to the full course program.
All contest details you can find on the site: www.actuary-grant.kz
Let us remind you, the first basic course started on Monday, June 11, where the students under the grant will be able to gain knowledge of actuarial activity, as well as pass a qualified exam (the first step to the license of the actuary). 40 people got the opportunity to obtain quality knowledge.
