The READI Project Math Outreach Team visited several secondary schools in Manado, North Sulawesi. The half-day workshops welcomed participants from: SMA Kristen Irene, SMAN 9 Manado, SMAN 1 Manado, SMAN 7 Manado, SMAN 4 Manado, and SMA Katolik Rex Mundi.
The purpose of this workshop was to spark interest in mathematics among high school students. By engaging in a variety of stimulating and interesting activities, students improved and nurtured effective problem-solving skills in mathematics. Additionally, the READI Project Math Outreach Team provided career outlooks and invited students to explore occupations within mathematics, specifically in the actuarial field. Dina Stefani, a lecturer from Pelita Harapan University, facilitated the workshops, which were attended by 808 students, including 297 boys and 511 girls, and 15 teachers. Many students and teachers admitted that they first heard about actuaries and the actuary profession in these workshops.
Although actuaries play a quintessential role in the financial industry, this profession is unknown to many people. This lack of awareness explains the low number of actuaries in Indonesia. The current number of actuarial professionals does not meet the needs of the Indonesian labor market. According to the Financial Services Authority (OJK), Indonesia needs more than one thousand actuaries in the next five years. With the objective to address the need for more actuaries in Indonesia, the READI Project promotes the actuarial profession to the wider community, especially to high school students, who are interested in mathematics, because in order to become an actuary, one needs a strong foundation in mathematics.
