When Malizole Mdlekeza was a youngster, children his age dreamed of becoming doctors and engineers.

But he dreamed of becoming the next Michael Schumacher or Lewis Hamilton. Mdlekeza simply loved the thrill of racing cars and turning this passion into a career was once on the cards.

A lot has changed since then, and let’s just say his other love – actuarial science – took pole position when this maths and science buff chose his career path at the start of his grade 11 year.

Fast forward a few short years … Mdlekeza became a University of Cape Town (UCT) graduate in 2008. He has “never looked back”.

At the beginning of 2020, more than a decade later and with a list of achievements under his belt, he returned to his alma mater – this time as UCT’s first black South African actuarial science lecturer.

“It is a privilege and an honour to hold this title and I carry it with responsibility; effectively being the first in UCT’s 190-year existence is quite something,” he said.

“During my time at the university, I really hope to have a positive impact on the people around me and to have them positively impact me as well.” Prioritise mentorship Mdlekeza, who described actuarial science as a “versatile” career choice, said South Africa has a dearth of qualified actuaries.

As at June 2020, the Actuarial Society of South Africa recorded only 1 634 qualified actuaries in the country, 62 (3.8%) of whom are black South Africans. But he believes that formal and informal mentorship at school and university can help boost this figure.

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