A delegation from the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria visited CMS Grammar School in Bariga, Lagos, to encourage secondary school students to consider actuarial science as a career, warning that Nigeria currently had only 28 qualified actuaries serving an economy of over 200 million people and that major employers were struggling to fill vacancies in the profession.

The delegation was led by Harris Oshojah, Assistant Director and Head of the Directorate of Actuarial Standards at the FRC, as part of the Nigerian Actuarial Development Program’s Catch Them Young Initiative, which aims to build the pipeline of actuarial talent the country needs to protect its financial and economic systems.

Keynote speaker Professor Ismaila Adeleke, Head of the Insurance and Actuarial Department at the University of Lagos, described actuarial science as the most rewarding professional field globally for those seeking careers in the financial industry. He said actuaries applied mathematical, statistical, finance, and economics skills to solve risk problems in business, working across insurance, pension management, banking, and foreign exchange risk management. He warned that the profession’s global demand was so high that qualified Nigerians were routinely recruited abroad.

Olasunkunmi Ayinde, Head of Auditing Practices Standards at the FRC, disclosed that top employers in Nigeria had advertised actuarial positions repeatedly without finding candidates to fill them. He told students who excelled in mathematics and computer science that the profession was built for them, while cautioning others that strong mathematical ability was a prerequisite.

The principal of CMS Grammar School, Reverend Jacob Ayokunle Ogunyinka, welcomed the initiative and urged students to embrace a skill that would set them apart from their peers throughout their professional lives.