NEWS & VIEWS
ACTUARIAL RECRUITMENT MARKETS AROUND THE WORLD
August
2008.
Written by the QS team. |
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As excitement about the Beijing
Olympics dies down amidst heroic
(and disappointed) athletes arriving
home, we reflect that it is not
just this great sporting event
that makes China a great place
for actuaries to be right now. It
is also a hugely exciting market
in terms of job opportunities,
with demand increasing faster than
local actuaries can fill the spots. These
spots are usually difficult for
foreigners without an understanding
of the Chinese market and people
to fill. So actuaries and
actuarial students without a specific
high-demand skill or Chinese language
skills to tout are unlikely to
have much luck breaking into this
market. However, Chinese
actuaries who have studied or worked
overseas and now want to return
to be closer to family are finding
it a good time to think about the
move back home, but they may be
surprised that most employers are
hoping in the first instance to
source their actuarial team locally. As
well as wanting candidates with
insight into the local market,
this may also be because of the
perception that overseas candidates
will want higher salaries, so it
pays to be realistic about salary
expectations when looking to move
to China.
For the moment, most jobs in
mainland China are still in the
area of life insurance, but the
pensions industry is very quickly
catching up due to rapid reforms
in the Chinese pension system,
where employer based pensions
are now playing a larger role
than with the previously Social
Security reliant system. This,
coupled with huge economic growth
in China, means that consultancies
are targeting huge growth in
benefits consulting revenues
over the next few years. Whereas
it was almost impossible for
actuaries with pensions experience
to find benefits jobs in China
just a short time ago, this very
exciting market is now mushrooming
opportunities. Actuaries
and students getting an early
start in this market will find
themselves in a very strong position
a year or two down the track.
Looking to other locations,
the Hong Kong and Singapore markets
look fairly stable, but we are
still seeing an increase in interest
in GI actuaries, with a number
of interesting positions currently
around. The Australian
market is still relatively small
in actuarial terms and most positions
can be filled locally and indeed
employers prefer this where possible. However,
nearly to newly qualified actuaries
with four plus years experience
in the right sectors of risk
management and insurance are
more likely to have luck breaking
into the market. The South
African market has quietened
down a little from the huge upsurge
of vacancies being advertised
earlier on in the year, but there
are signs that employers in South
African may need to look overseas
to fill some vacancies in the
not too distant future – this
is almost unprecedented for this
country, which has traditionally
been a net supplier of actuaries
and actuarial departments around
the world. The UK market
is still experiencing candidate
shortages in all sectors, although
this hasn’t made employers
any less particular about finding
the right calibre of candidate
with the right type of experience. Jobs
in the tiny New Zealand market
remain few and far between, but
there are a few interesting vacancies
at the moment and the NZ actuarial
industry seems to be looking
a little more positively at candidates
wanting to immigrate to NZ and – it
is just a matter of patiently
waiting until the right job comes
along.
In fact, actuarial job hunting
these days is not entirely unlike
chasing that Olympic gold – as
well as technical expertise and
strength, a huge amount of patience
and dedication is required to
net that perfect job! We
congratulate all the Olympic
athletes on realising the dream
of participating in this pinnacle
of sporting events, particularly
those carrying the home flags
of our eminent readers around
the world!
RECRUITMENT CONSULTANTS WANTED
Due to increasing demand for
our services worldwide, Quantum
Selection is seeking to build
up our team in a number of
locations, most urgently
in Greater China, Singapore,
Australia
and the United Kingdom, but
also in France, Switzerland,
Bermuda, Japan, India, Malaysia,
United Arab Emirates, New
Zealand and in fact wherever
it is
you live!
Our consultants earn high
commissions (around 50%
of billings) and
work flexible hours from
home, but need to have impeccable
ethics and be exceptionally
motivated
and hard working. Hence we
prefer actuaries (or ex
students/associates)
as we know you have the qualities
required for the job. Your
inside
knowledge of actuarial work
is an added benefit and
your outstanding
written and spoken communication
ability (in English and any
local languages) is central
to success
in this role.
So if you are looking for
a bit of a change and think
you
(or
a friend/colleague) have
the qualities to make a
good actuarial
recruitment consultant,
please apply in confidence
to susan@quantumselection.com.
Our winning formula of offering candidates and
clients a quality service has led to our rapid expansion.
We presently have several offices strategically positioned
throughout the world, where we combine local knowledge
with the benefits of extensive resources. We are committed
to providing a high quality, individualised recruitment
service for every client and candidate, focusing on the
development of long term relationships.
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