Road to Success: Emerald's Global Young Talent Survey

This article was first published by Emerald Group and has been reproduced with kind permission. To read the original article, click here.

To uncover the motivations and goals of young professionals working in the actuarial and financial services sector, Emerald Group asked a group of sixty mostly pre-qualified actuaries to share their perspectives on their careers and what matters to them. The majority of our survey participants were under 35 and came from every corner of the globe, including every major international financial centre.

Executive Director Connor Deacon believes the views they’ve shared give an exciting perspective on the future of the industry, “It’s exciting to have an industry filled with ambitious individuals. The Emerald Group survey findings show that we can look forward to a sector that embraces change. As young professionals welcome initiatives driven by AI and data science, the market will inevitably become more technical.”

Skills-Driven Career Goals

Many young and aspiring actuaries shared the same route into the profession: a desire to use their maths skills in a professional context. While the majority had an educational background in maths (43%) or actuarial science (34%), participants came from a wide range of educational disciplines: from law and commerce to engineering or non-university routes, demonstrating the broad skill set of young people entering the profession.

This is a very determined group, with the majority of respondents who are currently unqualified actively working towards their exams. Most (70%) stated that salary and benefits were behind their choice to become an actuary. 55% were motivated by career opportunities and 27% saw this profession as a route to working internationally. And they’re not stopping when they’re qualified: future study is a goal for many, with actuarial data science, risk management and pensions top of the list of potential further qualifications.

Ambition will Drive Progress

Ambition is clear across these young professionals, with an incredible 75% intending to progress into senior roles. Many are looking to change departments or even sectors to follow their professional aspirations. An impressive 29% intend to lead innovation for the industry.  

While 32% of respondents currently work in consulting, only 25% saw consulting as their future, signposting a potential preference to move to in-house positions.

Young professionals are also looking ahead to the future of the industry as a whole. Over 40% want to explore opportunities in AI in the future. The same number have Data Science in their sights as a potential future career direction. 17% see Data Analysis as an area for future focus.

With such ambitious goals, what are the implications for today’s job seekers? Connor believes competition between candidates will inspire wide-spread skills development across all these areas, “Future candidates are increasingly going to be competing for roles against others with a similar skillset. It’s vital that candidates are aware of their own knowledge and qualifications and keep up or – even better, get ahead of the curve. There’s a risk that strong candidates will be overtaken by others if they don’t take their professional development seriously. Understand who you’re up against for a new role and think about what you need to position yourself as the stronger choice.”

High Employer Expectations

What do these young professionals want from their employers?  While almost all participants are looking for salary, benefits, career progression and promotion opportunities, Emerald Group’s findings reflect the very specific expectations of this group.

• Flexible working is particularly important: 55% want hybrid working options and 57% expect remote working options to be available, with flexible start and finish times, better work life balance and part-time working noted as incentives.  
• 40% want employers to provide international relocation opportunities.
• Significantly, 22% expect their employers to be socially responsible: an important message for companies in a rapidly evolving world.  

Where flexibility and good company culture are present, it is clearly valued by employees.

So what does this mean for employers? Connor commented, “Now is the time for companies to look carefully at who they’re hiring and who they already employ. It’s important to recognise the strong ambitions of junior team members. Let them thrive within their current roles: keep them engaged and satisfied with their jobs, and help them to continuously learn and grow without having to change companies.”

Already Looking for Change

While 56% of respondents are happy with their current employers, a significant proportion plan to leave their current employers – many within the next twelve months. Connor outlined several key reasons for this, “This figure is unusually high, but not surprising. Since Covid, candidates have been in short supply and there have been plenty of options for anyone looking to change roles. With so many options, changing jobs feels easy but it’s important that candidates choose wisely. They need to think carefully about what they want to achieve and what they’re looking for in a new employer. It’s also important to remember that you learn a great deal by staying with one company for several years: frequent role changes don’t encourage career stability.”

With staff retention an ever-present issue across the sector, our findings are clear:  employers need to understand and support the professional journeys of their rising talent. Whether it’s career progression, international opportunities, flexible working or industry-leading training, this ambitious group is worth holding on to.