For almost two decades, Boal & Co has welcomed third-year university students studying Actuarial Science into our business through a structured placement year programme, offering hands-on experience within our in-house actuarial and pension scheme accounting teams. This long-standing commitment has provided a key starting point for the professional journeys of more than 20 individuals across actuarial, finance and pensions industries; many of whom have gone on to have successful and prominent careers within globally respected firms.
In this latest Q&A, we hear from Henry Stephenson and Joshua Irwin, our 2025/26 placement students as they reflect on their year with Boal & Co. Now approaching the final weeks of their placement with us, they share insights into what they have learned, both personally and professionally, the skills they have developed and how the experience has shaped their future career ambitions.
Here are Henry and Joshua's top 10 learnings from their placement year with Boal & Co:
Henry:
1. Asking questions - and knowing when to ask them - is invaluable
Having started my placement knowing very little about pensions and what real actuarial work involves, asking questions has been invaluable. While it's always worth trying to figure something out on your own first, recognising when you don't know something is such an important skill. Everybody at Boal & Co has been more than happy to help – and I have learned that there is no such thing as a bad question!
2. The Isle of Man is a beautiful place
The Isle of Man really is an amazing place filled with nature, history and friendly people and I have really enjoyed spending time this last year exploring all over the island. My key learning from this - make the most of the good days as when the weather gets bad here, it gets really bad! On the flip side, on a sunny day, it’s up there with the most beautiful places in the world.
3. Actuarial exams are plentiful!
Should my career continue in an actuarial field, there are many more exams ahead of me after university. It has been incredibly valuable to work closely with two actuaries currently studying for their exams. I now understand more about the process, what each exam entails – and the effort that goes into the preparation. It really is a huge commitment!
4. If in doubt, leave a note
From day one with the actuarial team, the importance of leaving notes on my work was stressed. Notes make it much easier to follow the process, understand why something has been calculated in a particular way and to find the source of information. This is important for those checking the work but can also be so valuable to those doing a similar process perhaps next quarter, next year, or even in several years from now.
5. Teamwork really matters
Working closely with the actuarial and scheme accounting teams has shown me how important collaboration is in a professional environment. Being surrounded by people with different levels of experience has helped me learn faster and see how work fits together across a team. It’s made a big difference having colleagues who are approachable, supportive and always willing to take the time to explain things properly.
Joshua:
6. Working 9-5 takes some getting used to
Not specific to Boal & Co but going from a full-time student to a full-time job was a shock to the system. So, this placement provided a much-needed opportunity to adapt to the office culture, particularly how to interact with colleagues, work as a team and how to draft a formal email to a client. This opportunity has been invaluable and will help me to hit the ground running when I start a full-time graduate job following the completion of my degree.
7. There’s always something new to learn with Excel
Using Excel on a day‑to‑day basis has been a steep but rewarding learning curve. The Excel skills developed at university and those required in a professional environment are quite different, so transitioning into workplace use was a significant but positive step! Regularly applying Excel at Boal & Co has helped me build practical skills I will carry forward into my future career. From mastering simple shortcuts, such as quickly inserting today’s date, to working with more complex formulas involving multiple criteria, this experience has enabled me to tackle tasks I wouldn’t previously have felt confident doing, while significantly improving my efficiency.
8. Theory and practice are two different things
Learning the theory at university is one thing but being able to apply it in a real-world context is very different. My pensions knowledge from university was quite limited but being able to work alongside some very experienced professionals in this field allowed me to really expand my knowledge in this area as well as see how different ideas come to life in real-world models used for pensions.
9. Independence feels good!
This opportunity has seen me grow significantly both in independent living and independent working. Moving on my own to a new place was scary but it really provided me with the perfect opportunity to learn all the life skills that living on your own brings… who knew cooking could actually be enjoyable! In a work context, it’s also encouraging to see how I’ve grown over the year. At the start, I found a lot of the tasks very complicated and required a lot of mentoring. However, as I found my feet I needed less guidance which gave me a strong sense of independence and confidence as I proved to myself that I can do it.
10. Pensions vary in different jurisdictions
With Boal & Co working across jurisdictions outside the Isle of Man, such as Gibraltar and Jersey, it has been a great opportunity to gain international exposure and see how pension regulations differ between locations. The variety this brings has really helped me become more adaptable in my work, and it’s been interesting to see how specialised products like Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) and International Pension Plans (IPPs) operate to support both individuals and multinational companies.
