I joined LCP in September 2010 along with 15 other graduates after completing a summer internship with LCP the year before. We started with a two week training course, which offered a great opportunity to get to know one another and introduced us to the company and what was to be expected of us. There was a lot to learn, but everyone was very approachable and encouraged us to ask questions.
This eased me into the general everyday office work, particularly in getting to grips with the in-house programmes and models. The work is diverse, ranging from performing individual member calculations to attending trustee meetings to discuss the results of their pension scheme triennial valuations. The work is supported by an excellent three year graduate training programme, including sessions on topics covered in the actuarial exams (e.g. actuarial functions and annuities), ‘hot topics’ such as tax and regulation and softer-skills training (e.g. on presentational skills). The size of the firm gives me the opportunity to work directly for senior consultants and partners and to work on a number of different clients, varying in both size and the type of work involved.
The technical and challenging work is balanced by a friendly, supportive work environment and a lot of socialising. The saying ‘work hard, play hard’ is definitely practised here. The social committee arranges frequent social events such as trips to the theatre, pub quizzes and our annual summer party and there is always somewhere to go for a few drinks on a Friday.