Skip to main content
The Actuary: The magazine of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries - return to the homepage Logo of The Actuary website
  • Search
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Logo of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Main navigation

  • News
  • Features
    • General Features
    • Interviews
    • Students
    • Opinion
  • Topics
  • Knowledge
    • Business Skills
    • Careers
    • Events
    • Predictions by The Actuary
    • Whitepapers
  • Jobs
  • IFoA
    • CEO Comment
    • IFoA News
    • People & Social News
    • President Comment
  • Archive
Quick links:
  • Home
  • Students
  • 2013

Logbook lethargic or diligent diarist?

Open-access content Wednesday 4th September 2013

Jessica Elkin encourages fellow students to keep on top of their ‘learning log’ to avoid a lot of work later on

©-Phil-Wrigglesworth-tripping-up-artwork.jpg

Avid readers, you may have noticed that I tend to write a lot about things not happening. Summer, exam revision, studying in general. I give the impression that my brain is rife with inactivity and sloth. (It's not, faithful employer!) Now, I'm not one to be inconsistent, so this month will be no exception.

'WBS' must ring a bell, surely. Weak brain syndrome? Whale breeding systems? Whisky-buying syndicate? Alas, no! It stands for 'work-based skills', and if you're a highly efficient sort then you're probably on top of it already. On the other hand, I know quite a few people who have aced - or at least overcome - all of the exams and are now trying to remember what on earth they have been doing over the past five years.


Sorry, work-based what? What is that?

For the uninitiated, 'work-based skills' is the term used to denote some of the final requirements actuarial students must meet. That is to say, in order to qualify as an actuary, you don't just need to pass all the exams - which is hard enough, if you ask me. You also need to submit a 'learning log' of all your training from when you started your traineeship, as well as a set of essays on various relevant topics of your choosing. You should be assigned an official work-based skills supervisor who will probably be a qualified actuary in your company - he or she will sign off your log and essays and oversee your development as a budding actuary. There is a section about work-based skills on the IFoA's website with more detailed information on all of this.

The work-based skills requirement was introduced in 2004; all members who joined the Institute of Actuaries on or after 9 June 1975 are required to have at least three years' experience of actuarial work before being admitted to the Fellowship.

The idea behind the work-based skills requirement is that the exams are all very theoretical and that practical experience should be gained before one can call oneself an actuary. Otherwise any Tom, Dick or Harry could get IFoA accreditation without ever having practised at all, and no one wants that.


Sounds simple - you must be right up to speed

Personally, I got as far as printing out some example essay questions and circling the ones I liked the look of. I even carried those around with me for a while in case inspiration struck and I had a sudden urge to sit down and pour my actuarial heart out. That's marginally better than nothing.

The problem with slacking is not only the slog of completing all of this work at in one go, but also actually remembering enough to fill in the training log. I do recall an amusing early IT session where a colleague of mine accidentally invited everyone in the firm to an event he'd created, including some jocular narrative that had been intended for another student. But I sense that's not quite what the learning log is for, although it did teach me a thing or two about exercising caution.

For those who either didn't start their logbook right away, or did absolutely nothing until they'd finished their exams, Outlook calendars can be redeemers. A quick search can reveal all the training sessions from yesteryear. The problem, however, is that it will not be immediately apparent what occurred during those sessions.

Another idea is to ask others from the same graduate intake (if applicable), or to simply request from your firm a list of routine training off ered to new starters. These are merely stopgaps though - prevention is certainly better than cure, and starting early would avoid all the hassle later.


Don't wanna miss a thing

If it's already too late for you, then this is not a very helpful student page. Instead, you could pass the message on to some fresh-faced students in a heroic bid to save them. A bit like Bruce Willis in Armageddon when (spoiler alert!) he remains on the asteroid to perish while Ben Affleck escapes. Or, you could sit back and watch with bitter satisfaction as they make the same mistakes you did.

If you're still in the early stages of your road to qualification, however, it might be worth a pitstop to allow you to get on with this work-based fun post-haste.


Filed in:
2013
Topics:
Professional

You might also like...

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Latest Jobs

Covenant Consultant

Leeds
£60-80k plus bonus and benefits
Reference
120863

Big 4 Consultancy – Senior Consultant / Manager, Life Actuarial

London / Bristol / Edinburgh
Competitive salary plus bonus
Reference
120771

Capital Optimisation & Balance Sheet Management – Insurance Consolidator

London, Dublin
Competitive salary package + study support if required
Reference
120860
See all jobs »
 
 

Today's top reads

 
 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to The Actuary

Receive the print edition straight to your door

Subscribe
Spread-iPad-slantB-june.png

Topics

  • Data Science
  • Investment
  • Risk & ERM
  • Pensions
  • Environment
  • Soft skills
  • General Insurance
  • Regulation Standards
  • Health care
  • Technology
  • Reinsurance
  • Global
  • Life insurance
​
FOLLOW US
The Actuary on LinkedIn
@TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Facebook: The Actuary Magazine
CONTACT US
The Actuary
Tel: (+44) 020 7880 6200
​

IFoA

About IFoA
Become an actuary
IFoA Events
About membership

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to The Actuary Magazine
Contribute

The Actuary Jobs

Actuarial job search
Pensions jobs
General insurance jobs
Solvency II jobs

© 2021 The Actuary. The Actuary is published on behalf of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries by Redactive Publishing Limited, Level 5, 78 Chamber Street, London, E1 8BL. Tel: 020 7880 6200