The Society of Actuaries Celebrates First Recipients of Micro-Credentials within the ASA Pathway
Schaumburg, IL, May 31, 2022 – The Society of Actuaries (SOA) proudly welcomes the first actuarial candidates to receive a Micro-credential on their way to becoming an Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA). This marks an important milestone for the candidates and the future of our organization. While candidates are pursuing the ASA designation, they are able to earn these Micro-credentials signifying their knowledge and skills on their journey through the Society of Actuaries Readiness (SOAR) education pathway. The SOA is a trusted partner providing valuable resources and support for actuarial candidates getting ready for a career as an actuary.
As part of the SOA’s Long-Term Growth Strategy, the SOA Board of Directors identified the changing nature of credentialling as a critical trend impacting the profession. The creation of the Micro-credentials is a direct result of this strategy. It is designed to encourage new and current candidates to succeed in their pursuit of actuarial skills, providing flexibility and acknowledgement of their achievements as part of the ASA Pathway.
These 150 SOA candidates worldwide earned the Pre-Actuarial Foundations Micro-credential, one of three steps designed to make candidates’ experience more rewarding. Individuals will receive a digital badge to highlight their earned skills on social media.
“Micro-credentials are an important achievement for these candidates, recognizing their learned skills and encouraging their educational journey,” said SOA CEO Greg Heidrich. “Supporting the SOA’s Strategic Plan, these Micro-credentials are an example of how we’re empowering candidates to tailor their educational goals and help get them recognized by employers for their achievements. We are proud to provide skill-focused education that hones candidates’ abilities and prepares them to become business leaders.”
The Pre-Actuarial Foundations Micro-credential represents skills required to learn how to solve actuarial problems but with limited actuarial context. These skills include accounting, corporate finance, economics, probability, financial mathematics and advancing candidates’ adaptability and emotional quotients (AQ/EQ). The latter is accomplished via a new e-Learning module.
ASA candidates can earn two additional Micro-credentials, the Actuarial Science Foundations and Data Science for Actuaries. All three of these achievements are marketable and sharable, and meet the changing demands of the actuarial profession, preparing aspiring actuaries to be ready for their next step and to be competitive in the marketplace.
About the Society of Actuaries
With roots dating back to 1889, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) is the world’s largest actuarial professional organization with more than 32,000 actuaries as members. Through research and education, the SOA's mission is to advance actuarial knowledge and to enhance the ability of actuaries to provide expert advice and relevant solutions for financial, business and societal challenges. The SOA's vision is for actuaries to be the leading professionals in the measurement and management of risk. Visit soa.org.