Education Committee, Chicago Meetings SOUTH AFRICAN NORMATIVE SKILLS PROGRAM Presentation for Education Committee, Chicago Meetings Andrew Gladwin October 2017

Key Aspects of a Profession (Bellis Framework) Cognitive (technical skills) Normative (delivery promise) Organisational (ensuring the above) We have specifically defined Normative Skills as the skill required to deliver on the professional promise

Normative Skills & The South African qualification South African qualification developed from 2007 and 2009 and launched at start of 2010 During development of SA qualification, our premise was always that in educating future quality actuaries, we required a greater focus on delivery skills International developments, in actuarial and other professions, have been towards greater emphasis on these skills Current environment clearly calls for actuaries with competency in these skills Specific SA research commenced in 2007

A Framework For Normative Skills Lowther/McMillan/Venter categorised these skills into four categories in their 2008 research Communication/interpersonal Life skills (diversity, study skills, exam techniques, planning etc.) Business management Ethical/professional

Making The Framework Practical Based on initial research, a four stage lifelong learning approach to normative skills was developed and approved by ASSA’s Council on 1 August 2011 Initial focus has been on implementing the 3rd stage which is the first two years of a student’s working life (Associate level) 4th stage (Fellowship level) commenced this year First and second stage , which were combined, (university/pre-working) commencing 2018

Normative Skills and Work Based Learning . The Normative Skills courses are education opportunities that takes place throughout the student’s Worked Learning path of 36 month where the skills and knowledge from the courses can be implemented in a real life working environment. Work Based Learning WBS develops additional delivery skills to ensure the effectiveness of the professional Actuary. WBS will be the core of the Actuarial Professional Practise course (“APP”) and the various workshops will supplement and support learning at work. Challenges Integration of WBS and APP. Students are not pro-active in the completion to learning logs, for example, some only complete essays and learning logs after completion of all examinations As a result, gaps in skills are not address timeously and with training and development programmes Students do not complete and submit annual review forms timeously Discussions are not focused on developmental training needs

Normative Skills Courses FOUNDATION APP COMMUNICATIONS CORE APP FELLOWSHIP APP CONTENT Basic concepts a round professionalism and communication, ethics and professionalism around data and modelling Preparing for written communication exam Professionalism, Communication, Practical modelling, business skills, working with teams, strategic thinking, emotional intelligence Integration of normative kills DELIVERY Part of university coursers or Online tutorials Self study or Part of university courses 4 workshops – 6 monthly over 2 years 1 workshop over 2 days ASSESMENT Completion of university course or on-line tutorial 3 hour written exam Active participation in workshops, 2 online exams, Modelling practical exam, Work based learning progress Active participation in workshop, work based learning progress WORK BASED LEARNING Generally done before entering workplace N/A 2 years required, integrated with course and personal development 1 additional year required . WBS develops additional delivery skills to ensure the effectiveness of the professional Actuary. WBS will be the core of the Actuarial Professional Practise course (“APP”) and the various workshops will supplement and support learning at work. Challenges Integration of WBS and APP. Students are not pro-active in the completion to learning logs, for example, some only complete essays and learning logs after completion of all examinations As a result, gaps in skills are not address timeously and with training and development programmes Students do not complete and submit annual review forms timeously Discussions are not focused on developmental training needs

An actuarial education curriculum that does not specifically recognise the capabilities required for actuarial practice is inadequate and results in sub- optimal learning outcomes . Novice actuarial learners will learn better if they start by developing a schema for “actuary” Learning quality is greatest when knowledge content and capability development are integrated, and students learn actively and collaboratively. In the author’s view, the Actuarial Society of South Africa is on track to set the benchmark for best practice in actuarial education” John Shepherd (concluding slides in his presentation on A Blueprint For Actuarial Education at ICA 2010)