Training
We would like all of our customers to be able to make full use of all the functionalities and features offered by iWorks Prophet. To enable you to learn about the extensive range of facilities for all types of actuarial calculations that iWorks Prophet provide, we have designed a number of training courses, set at varying levels of expertise. Training is provided by our Prophet experts and it offers the perfect environment to develop, update or refresh your Prophet knowledge as well as the opportunity to share experiences with other users.
SunGard runs a selection of standard courses designed to train users on particular aspects of iWorks Prophet. As such they are intended to complement our service of providing company specific, tailored training. These courses are available to all our Prophet clients around the world.
Certificates are issued to all delegates who attend our courses.
Standard Courses
Standard training courses are scheduled to run at various global locations, including the UK. A 10% early booking discount will be offered to delegates who return a completed booking form at least three weeks before the final booking date.
Standard training courses are listed below and within the Training Directory and can be provided as either:
External Scheduled Courses
A scheduled course where clients are invited to attend a chosen venue on predetermined dates. This is open to all Prophet users. For upcoming dates, please see our training schedule
In-House Courses
An ad-hoc training course is usually held at clients’ offices at a time chosen specifically by the client. There is also an option to invite your team to our UK offices in either Chertsey or Canary Wharf.
Tailored Courses
We will partner with you to develop a comprehensive training course with your specific goals in mind. This may involve creating a tailored course that is made up of a combination of subjects from the various standard courses, or indeed a brand new one that is created to match your needs.
Tailored courses are typically offered as in-house training, where one of our trainers comes to your offices and trains up to eight people at a time. Tailoring of our standard courses is charged at a standard daily rate, for changes to the training material and administration costs.
Training and Certification Programme for Consultancies
iWorks provides a comprehensive offering of classes, seminars, webinars, and assessment processes intended to foster and improve the skills required of effective Prophet consultants. For more information about training and certification programme for consultancies, please click here.
Course Details
Below is a list of the courses we currently provide, together with a brief description of their content. Â
For more details about these courses, please look at our Training Directory
Scheduled Courses
Click on the course title for the latest schedule for our most popular courses:
Introduction to Prophet
Our recommended introductory level course for anyone new to Prophet. These two days will give a thorough grounding in the use of Prophet and are especially suitable for anyone who has little or no Prophet experience and/or less than 18 months' experience in an actuarial environment.
Advanced Coding in Prophet
Aimed at users whose knowledge is equivalent to having attended an Introduction to Prophet course and then having applied those skills steadily for three months in a working environment. This course will guide delegates onto the next phase of their Prophet usage by taking them beyond the basic coding covered in the introduction courses.
Introduction to ALS - External Liabilities
An overview of the range of deterministic, dynamic and stochastic ALM projections that can be carried out using Prophet, including an outline of the functionality of the Asset Liability Strategy ("ALS") library. This course is appropriate for people who wish to use Prophet to model assets and the fund within an ALS library product, where interactions with liability results are achieved by dynamically incorporating cash flows using "external" Prophet liability products.
Data Conversion and Grouping
An introduction to the Data Conversion and Data Grouping System (DCS) and the Data Grouping options in Prophet. This course is suitable for a new user of DCS or for someone who wants to carry out grouping of their policy data.
Other Courses
The following courses are available as in-house courses, arranged on request
Introduction to ALS - Internal Liabilities
An overview of the Asset Liability Strategy (ALS) library with liabilities modelled "internally" i.e. in the same product. The course provides a basic understanding of the calculations performed in the ALS library where the interactions of the assets and liabilities and the dynamic decisions take place within one product. The course also covers how the liabilities can be modelled within an ALS product.
Stochastic Liability Modelling
Provides hands-on experience for users who wish to use Prophet to model their liabilities stochastically. Includes pricing of guarantees and gives delegates an opportunity to compare and contrast the different economic models available. Includes in-depth coverage of SGA, which is used throughout the day.
Extended Formula Coding in Prophet
Designed to introduce the new features in Prophet, covering advanced formula coding techniques. The course provides several approaches to writing efficient coding and is aimed at those with some existing experience of the system. This is a fast-moving course intended for delegates who already have good actuarial and Prophet knowledge.
Automating Prophet
This course is suitable for anyone who wishes to learn about techniques to automate the Prophet run process. It helps users to understand how Prophet is used, but who does not currently need to specify product models. It includes DCS, multiple runs, the API and results reporting techniques. No actuarial knowledge is required.
Introduction to Glean
An introduction to the Glean Experience Analysis System and, as an integral part of that, the basics of the Data Conversion System. Delegates will be shown how to perform an Experience Investigation, to compare their experience against expected rates and to fit a generalised linear model to their data.
Administrating Prophet Environments
The workshop for anyone with responsibilities for their company's Prophet environment. This is an interactive day where delegates discuss the need for, and best practices in, the various processes and controls that can be applied to managing a Prophet multi-user environment.