SAI Transition Year Work Experience Program
The SAI's Diversity, Equity, Accessibility & Inclusion (DEAI) Committee organises Transition Year Work Experience program (the “SAI TY program”) with the aim of introducing the actuarial profession to students from diverse backgrounds. The aim of the program is to reach students who would not normally have access to this type of experience.
The SAI TY program is an interactive 4-day program for transition year students run by Susan HayesCulleton of The Positive Economist and Savvy Teen Academy, in collaboration with volunteers and sponsoring employers.
The program can accommodate up to 30 transition year students each and includes a mix of practical assignments linked to the actuarial profession and conversations / round tables / presentations from actuaries at various stages in their career and from various backgrounds.
The schedule of programs for 2025 is listed below. If you are interested in attending any of these, please register here https://sai.savvyteens.com/. Please note that students from Northern Ireland are also welcome to attend and those interested must ensure they have appropriate permissions in place before registering.
- Program 1: 10th -13th February 2025
- Program 2: 18th - 21st March 2025
- Program 3: 31st March - 3rd April
We will also run a webinar on 9th April 2025 for students who are not able to attend the programs. Further details of the webinar will be posted to our website closer to the time.
For Students / Schools
If you have an aptitude for Maths and are interested in a career in this area, have ambitions to succeed in a profession that is full of diversity and impact but would like to try out lots of different things first, this Transition Year Work Experience is right up your street.
During this four-day experience, you will develop a range of technical and soft skills, get a genuine insight into the breadth of opportunity offered by the actuarial profession, delve into the social impact of the profession and meet people who have years of experience in the industry.
There will be lots of both individual and group work. You will have the opportunity to meet lots of people who work as actuaries within the insurance industry as well as those who have used their skills and expertise as a springboard into new areas.
For Employers
We are looking for sponsoring employers to fund the costs of Savvy Teen Academy's work on the Transition Year Program. We are also looking for employees from sponsoring employers to join a working group to help design and develop content for the program and deliver some sessions. Volunteers can include actuaries from various levels including qualified actuaries, part qualified and students.
Sponsorship benefits and terms & conditions can be found below. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact us at info@actuaries.ie.
Volunteers
We are also looking for volunteers from different practice areas to do a session during one of the programs. It would be very informal where you just speak about yourself, where you went to school and what made you decide to become an actuary. If you are interested in getting involved, please reach out to info@actuaries.ie.
Day One
Our programme will kick start online. You will meet the other participants and engage in active learning.
Day One
You can practice using technology like Google Sheets to complete tasks similar to those of an actuary.
Day Three
You'll reconnect with your peers and begin working on your final presentations.
Day Four
We will conclude our programme with a final online presentation. You will reflect on your experience and present your final work.
Susan Hayes-Culleton
Susan Hayes-Culleton, CFA, also known as "The Positive Economist," is the Managing Director of the Hayes Culleton Group. The company specializes in peer learning and has clients across Europe and the USA. Susan has authored five books, including "Positive Economics," the Leaving Cert Economics textbook in Ireland, "Money Matters" and "Engineering In The World". In addition to her work with Hayes Culleton Group, Susan co-founded Savvy Teens, an organization that provides careers, communication, and confidence work experiences for teenagers.