Now in it’s 4th year, the annual Riskworx Graduate program (known as the Mavericks program) kicked off in the last week of January ‘22 and is in full swing, with 6 bright young minds getting groomed to become Graduate Financial Engineers in the Riskworx stable.

The selection of these Grads started in September 2021, when the Riskworx Talent Team gave pitches at some of South Africa’s top universities to explain what we do at Riskworx and who we are looking for to participate in our Mavericks program. Students busy with post-graduate degrees in any of the Quantitative disciplines such as Mathematics (be it pure maths, applied maths, financial maths or computational maths), Engineering, Physics, Econometrics and Mathematical Statistics were invited to apply. The Riskworx talent team sifted through more than 1,000 applications and after a series of aptitude tests and personal interviews, 6 candidates were selected as the 2022 “Riskworx Mavericks”. This year’s intake consists of students from Wits, UCT and UP with post-graduate qualifications in Mathematical Statistics, Actuarial Science, Financial Risk Management, Mathematics and Physics.

The Mavericks program takes these Graduates go through a rigorous 3 months where more than 20 facilitators – all seasoned industry practitioners – cover 3 learning pillars:

1.    Quantitative topics such as derivative pricing, yield curve construction, FRTB, Balance Sheet Management and Basel capital requirements
2.    Tools every financial engineer needs such as programming in Python & C#, advanced Excel, database management, machine learning and dashboard design
3.    “Soft skills” aimed at individual growth, with innovative sessions such as Spinal Health, Stress Management, Talent coaching and NLP

As facilitators, mentors and “Maverick Buddies” (past Riskworx Graduates) we look forward to accompanying them on this demanding yet fun-filled journey.

Visit www.riskworx.com and LinkedIn