Find out all you need to know about our Professional Skills Training.
The IFoA is committed to supporting our members in attaining the high levels of professionalism that assure our profession’s global reputation. In July 2020 we introduced changes to the IFoA’s 3-Stage Professional Skills Training which apply to all new joiners from 1 July 2020.
Transitional arrangements apply to Members who joined before 1 July 2020.
The Stage 1 Professionalism Course and Stage 2 Online Professionalism Course are part of the qualification requirements.
Stage 3 Professional Skills Training is a bank of resources published by the IFoA which members may find useful in fulfilling their professional skills training requirement under the IFoA’s CPD Scheme. These resources are hosted on the IFoA’s newly upgraded Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) which can be accessed with your Member Login.
The Professional Skills Hub gives members access to the IFoA’s Professional Skills Training resources which are designed to help you meet your professional requirements in relation to the Actuaries’ Code and professional standards.
The types of resources include:
These resources may be used towards meeting the professionalism requirements for those in the scope of the IFoA's CPD Scheme. Visit and explore the Hub.
This is a self-access e-learning course comprising of 4 Modules:
The course can be accessed at any time, but must be completed before applying to sit CB3 Business Management Exam.
For more detailed information please see Stage 1: Professionalism Course.
Read The Actuaries’ Code.
This course builds on the knowledge acquired in Stage 1, with a format based around discussion of case studies with input from specialist ethicist and actuary facilitators. The course takes place over a 1-week period, with pre-reading of case studies to be undertaken and online contributions to be made in advance of the course start date. The course must be completed, either before qualifying as an Associate, or within 6 years of joining the IFoA.
For more detailed information please see Stage 2: Online Professionalism course.
Stage 3 is an annual requirement to complete a minimum of 2 hours Professional Skills Training, defined as “CPD activities with a Learning Outcome related to managing professional ethical challenges” in the CPD Scheme 2020.
For more detailed information please see Stage 3: Professional Skills Training.
The IFoA is committed to supporting our members in attaining the high levels of professionalism that assure our profession’s global reputation.
Our Professional Skills Team and IFoA members have been working together to deliver planned improvements to the IFoA Professional Skills Training regime. The changes, made in 2020, are designed to support a more flexible learning approach and to ensure we deliver the appropriate professionalism training at the right time in members’ careers, in a way that better fits around members’ busy working lives.
We are replacing the current Stage 1 Online Professionalism Awareness Test (OPAT) with a 4 part modular e-learning course.
The course content will cover material included in the previous Stage 2 Professional Skills Course (PSC), so that Student members will benefit from developing this knowledge early on in their actuarial careers.
The new Stage 1 Professionalism Course can be accessed at any time of your choosing, but must be completed before you can apply to sit CB3 Business Management Exam. The online course should take around 3 to 4 hours to complete. Computer based assessments are included but an unlimited number of attempts are permitted.
We are replacing the current Stage 2 Professional Skills Course with a new Stage 2 Online Professionalism Course.
The course will build on the knowledge acquired in Stage 1, with a format based around discussion of case studies with input from specialist ethicist and actuary facilitators. We have responded to member feedback, condensing the course into a shorter time period and focussing the course content on developing advanced ethical reasoning skills with expert input. The new course case studies will be more accessible and globally relevant as we move away from a practice specific approach.
The new Stage 2 Online Professionalism course will take place over a 1-week period, with pre-reading of case studies to be undertaken and online contributions to be made in advance of the course beginning. The course must be completed, either before you qualify as an Associate, or within 6 years of joining the IFoA.
In order for these new courses to be sustainable we will need to charge a course fee for each stage.
There will be a charge for each of these new style courses from 1 July 2020. A reduced rate fee will be available, for members currently on a reduced rate membership subscription fee, consistent with our pricing structure for other elements of the qualification.
The fees will be:
| Course | Full rate | Reduced rate |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 Professionalism Course | £75.00 | £55.00 |
| Stage 2 Online Professionalism Course | £150.00 | £105.00 |
The new arrangements will apply to all Students who join the IFoA on or after 1 July 2020.
For Students and newly qualified Fellows who joined before 1 July 2020, there will also be transitional arrangements.
Students who join the IFoA on or after 1 July 2020
Students who join the IFoA under the Transfer of Prior Learning (TPL) process
Students who joined the IFoA before 1 July 2020
Newly qualified Fellows who joined as Student members before 1 January 2019
Members who have completed (current) Stage 1 and are required to complete the new Stage 2 under the transitional arrangements will also have the option to do the new Stage 1 at a time of their choosing, should they wish to do so. This will be given to eligible members free of charge due to the substantial shift of content from the former Stage 2 PSC to the new Stage 1 Professionalism Course. If this applies to you, please book your free place by contacting education.services@actuaries.org.uk.
Our Professional Skills Working Group (PSWG) works to:
The PSWG consists of volunteers from a diverse membership base and executive staff from the IFoA’s General Counsel and Education Partnerships and Lifelong Learning Team.
The group's full responsibilities are set out in the Professional Skills Working Group terms of reference (400 KB PDF).
For further information please contact the Professional Skills team.