Actuarial Technician Apprenticeship (Pensions)

Pension schemes are part of the backbone of the UK savings industry – relied on by millions to give them a reliable and secure income in retirement.

For organisations providing a pension to their employees as part of their pay and reward, it is vital to balance the costs and risks of a pension scheme while meeting best practice governance requirements. It is becoming increasingly complex yet essential for a pension scheme to succeed, not just for the organisation providing the pension but for those who receive it. Our clients value strong technical knowledge in understanding pensions to help them solve their complex challenges and to bring new ways to innovate and develop new solutions.

A career in Pensions requires a high level of both numeracy and communication skills, as well as the commitment to completing the apprenticeship and future actuarial professional qualifications to become a qualified actuary. Isio’s Actuarial Apprenticeship programme offers the opportunity to build valuable technical actuarial knowledge and effective workplace skills.

Responsibilities

The Actuarial Technician Apprenticeship programme at Isio has been designed to develop you and enable you to kick start your career within Pensions. You will be:

• Applying actuarial skills and concepts to calculate the value of pension and other benefits for employers and trustees.
• Financial modelling and risk analysis for client projects.
• Supporting senior colleagues in advising clients on their pensions strategy and how to manage these risks, both on a day-to-day basis and when considering a long-term objective.
• Assisting with designing and implementing employee communication programmes.
• Supporting senior colleagues in helping clients to understand and manage accounting, tax, and legislative changes that affect their pension schemes.
• Contributing to proposals for new business opportunities.
• Supporting senior colleagues at client meetings.

Office Locations

We are recruiting apprentices into our Birmingham, Leeds, and Manchester offices. In this role, apprentices will be required to work in their Isio office 4 or 5 days a week for their first 6 months. Following the completion of your probation, you will be required to work in your Isio office 3 days per week.

Future Prospects

Getting to grips with the fundamentals of the role and building workplace skills will be your priority when you join us. Our work stretches beyond pensions, and that’s where we set ourselves apart as you develop within the role.

Our Learning and Development team will ensure your skills are developed throughout the duration of your apprenticeship, in addition to the support you will receive from our external government-approved Level 4 apprenticeship provider. The apprenticeship programme is just the start; we will support you at every stage of your career here at Isio, not just at the beginning. Beyond the Apprenticeship, support will be provided in working towards completing professional exams and gaining the work experience to become a fully qualified Actuary and Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA).

Skills Required

There is no expectation for those wanting to join the Level 4 Actuarial Technician Apprenticeship programme to have any previous industry or work experience. However, this is a pathway to become a fully qualified actuary, and there are a few skills that are important to not only succeed but also to enjoy the role:

• Desire to and ability to work with and analyse complex numbers.
• Working within a team – this is critical to delivering our services to clients.
• Proactive in approach to managing and organising your work.
• Understand the importance of and demonstrate effective communication.

Personal Qualities

We hold ourselves to account through our values, which we call the Isio attitude.

Our culture is what sets us apart. We value transparency, accountability, and agility. We encourage our colleagues to be bold, to speak with conviction, and to deliver advice that matters. We aim to create an environment where people feel supported and trusted to do their best work, and where high performance is recognised and rewarded.

This is through demonstrating commitment to our core purpose:

Power in Partnership: We work in partnership with our clients and each other – building open and trusted relationships. Working together allows us to deliver the best for our clients.

Future Focus: We want to push our industry forward by solving problems in better ways that benefit both our clients and society.

Strength in Difference: We work with diverse perspectives to find better solutions. Working with differences makes us stronger.

People First: We recognise that pensions is a people business. People are the source of Isio’s expertise, and it is people’s lives that we affect through our advice.

Minimum Qualifications

Applicants must have the following academic qualifications:

• GCSE in English and Maths at Grade 4 or C or an equivalent, or higher.
• On track to receive or already achieved 3 A-levels, which includes Maths at Grade B or higher.

Accessibility

It’s our vision to foster a diverse, inclusive, and equitable environment, which recognises individuals for their unique contributions, celebrates their differences without judgement, and is committed to driving measurable change.

Isio promises to make the recruitment process as accessible as possible, giving all candidates the opportunity to shine. We will reduce or remove barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate.

What reasonable adjustments can we offer?

Adjustments are made on a case-by-case basis, but can include:

• Extra time to complete assessments.
• Receiving content in accessible formats.