Acturial Apprentice Review

I am an Actuarial Apprentice within the reserving team of Aviva's General Insurance business. I work alongside Actuaries and other Acturial trainees to ensure the company holds enough reserves for historic and future claims. To do this, I work very closely with my team, made up of an Actuarial manager and two other trainees, looking at personal household, creditor and specialist insurance. I am also sponsored by the company to take the Actuarial exams which means I am required to study outside of work.

I am studying for the Actuarial exams, which Aviva sponsor me to do. My study materials as well as 45 study days are on offer meaning I do not need to use annual leave for studying purposes. I have gained confidence with my communication skills, as I am constant contact with others.

I really enjoy my work due to the welcoming nature of my team and the company in general. I was able to fit in and feel comfortable very soon after joining which helped me succeed.

I was given a fair amount of responsiblity early in my career, which helped build up my confidence. As a result I felt valued by my team, and felt I was making a difference rather than making up numbers.

As this apprenticeship is only in it's second year, the failure of the support through mentors/buddies has been blamed on this. I feel this is something that definitely needs improving as this apprenticeship is a lot for a school leaver to take on with the demands of the studying on top of the full time job.

In general, the people at Aviva are incredibly friendly are willing to answer any questions you may have. So in that sense I feel supported through people I work with even though they have nothing to do with my training development.

My manager is a huge support, and very easy to talk to. He makes it clear that he's there if I ever need any guidance, and if he doesn't hold the answers, he'll point me to someone that will.

The salary is excellent for a school leaver, possibly even one of the highest paying apprenticeships. It is enough to cover living costs. However, it would have been nice to have received the same starting bonus as the graduates, as this was sold on the basis of helping with relocation ect. It isn't cheaper for an apprentice to relocate than it is for a graduate.

The graduates and apprentices always have some sort of plans for the weekends which is nice.

Yes

It is a friendly company, who care about their staff just as much as they care about their customers.

Try to gain work experience within your field of interest- it helps you to find out if the job is right for you and if you are right for the job. Document your experiences which show different sides to you, e.g sports, other clubs, societies ect. This will help when it comes to answering competency questions at interviews.