Old Mutual

About Old Mutual

Old Mutual is one of South Africa's best-known financial services groups. It was founded in Cape Town in 1845 as a mutual life assurance society. Over the years it grew into a group offering life cover, savings, investments, banking and lending across South Africa and the rest of Africa. After a managed separation in 2018, Old Mutual Limited became the listed company, with listings on the JSE and several African exchanges.

A group of this size depends on skilled people. Actuaries, accountants and other financial specialists are hard to find, and training them takes years. This is why Old Mutual funds students early instead of waiting to recruit graduates.

How Old Mutual supports students

The Old Mutual Early Careers bursary has two main streams. One is for Actuarial Science and the other is for Accounting on the Chartered Accountant route. Both run in-house and are meant to feed the company's own talent pipeline.

Funding in recent calls covered tuition and study materials. It also covered meals and residence accommodation, plus return flights home for students studying outside their hometown. Students who achieve excellent marks have also received extra incentives. The support runs for the full duration of the degree.

After graduation, bursars enter a structured development programme. Actuarial Science bursars follow the actuarial development track. Accounting bursars join the Old Mutual Chartered Accountant Training Programme, known as OMCAT. This programme gives exposure to external reporting, management decisions, risk, governance and taxation. In return, bursars are expected to work for Old Mutual after they qualify.

It also helps to understand why these two streams exist. Actuaries price risk and measure the financial health of insurers, so they are central to a life assurance business. Chartered accountants keep the group's financial reporting accurate. Both professions need long, demanding training, and a bursary lets a student focus on studying while the company plans their future role.

What to know before applying

Requirements are strict. Applicants must be South African citizens. For the Actuarial Science stream, recent calls asked for at least 80% in Mathematics, along with strong results in English and other subjects. For the Accounting stream, they asked for at least 70% in Mathematics and acceptance at a SAICA-accredited university. Actuarial applicants had to apply to, or study at, one of a short list of approved universities.

The selection process has included interviews. Successful candidates then receive a provisional offer, which is confirmed after final matric results and proof of university acceptance. Closing dates have fallen around the end of June in recent years, but you should check the current date on the official careers page.

Finally, do not confuse this programme with other Old Mutual-linked funds. The OMIG Imfundo Trust is administered separately, so it has its own rules and application process.