Martin told HR magazine countries like Germany, which have kept their industrial infrastructure in place, have a natural advantage as those sectors "lend themselves to apprenticeships".
"But in this country the professional services sectors are learning the value of apprenticeships and realising the value of developing high-quality programmes for roles such as actuarial," she said.
"The great thing is we can get people straight from school. Some simply don't have the money to spend four or five years at university so this is a good alternative."
Mercer is one of the government-approved 'trailblazers' developing an actuarial technical apprenticeship in England. The scheme is currently in its second phase. The completion date is set for spring 2015, with the first group of apprentices beginning in September that year.
Martin says the employee-led model championed by the government is "working well".
"A wealth of great companies are getting behind it," she added. "And it really does give opportunities people otherwise wouldn't have. I know if I hadn't had a non-fee paying university I wouldn't have been able to study for my PhD and probably wouldn't be where I am today."
