Enthusiasm for legal apprenticeships grew notably last year
with several firms launching formal schemes. Not only are new Higher
Apprenticeships in Legal Services due to launch in March, which are equivalent
to the first year of a degree, but the government's minister for skills,
Matthew Hancock, announced in late December that it may be possible to enroll
on apprenticeships equivalent to bachelors and masters degree level as early as
this year.
Some may be skeptical that a route to qualification will be
ready to launch that soon but the momentum has been building for some time.
Arguably, work-based learning pilots and combined LPC training contracts have
already paved the way to launch an entirely work-based route into practice.
Don't fix what ain't broke, was supreme court president Lord
Neuberger's warning in a speech on reforming legal education in November.
However, in the Association of Law Teachers' annual Lord Upjohn lecture, he
acknowledged the importance of alternate routes. He estimated the overall cost
of entering the profession through university at around £100,000 including
living expenses, and highlighted the threat this presents to the diversity of
the profession.
"A less diverse profession is an impoverished one, one
less able to reflect and support a flourishing democracy committed to the rule
of law", he said.
Little wonder then that proponents of new apprenticeships
schemes are hopeful for the future. It seems that the profession is coming to a
natural realisation, perhaps alongside the rest of society, that a university
education, though not without its merits, is not the only route to a
professional career.
"It doesn't surprise me that the professions are doing
this with tuition fees the way they are at the moment," says Rita
McGucken, training manager at Horwich Farrelly.
School leavers are now cottoning on to the fact that, not
only is university expensive, but there is no guarantee of employment at the
end and they're weighing up their options.
The financial considerations are unavoidable when it comes
to making these choices but it seems that other considerations are being
overlooked as schools and colleges struggle to fully inform students of what
alternatives there are to university.
Jonathan Bourne is a former solicitor and managing director
of Damar Training, which provides professional training and apprenticeships to
various sectors. The firm is also a partner in launching the new legal higher
apprenticeships scheme.
Having played a fundamental role in establishing the scheme
with partners at Skills for Justice, Pearson in Practice, Cilex and The
National Apprenticeship Service, Bourne is naturally enthusiastic on the
subject, talking of a "new breed" of apprenticeship pathway.
It's difficult not to share his enthusiasm when you think
about the number of LPC-graduate paralegals that may just as well have gone
straight into work and found themselves in fee-earning roles sooner and with
less debt. "That's not to say it's for everybody," Bourne is quick to
point out, "but at 16,17 and 18-years-old you need to start thinking about
what route is right for you".
Hilary Yeo is a graduate recruitment partner at Plexus Law,
where they have just taken on seven apprentices from a local sixth form.
Having observed that young staff members who were supported
through the ranks from entry level into senior positions are some of the best
they have, despite not having any formal qualifications, Plexus decided to
formalise that pathway.
Yeo believes that those staff members would have taken an
apprenticeship route into legal practice had it been available when those staff
members started. "Times have changed" she says, "firms are much
more of a business now than simply a law firm. We thought if we ran a more
formal scheme then it would replicate what we've had by accident, in terms of
people growing up with the firm".
Until the new apprenticeships launch in the spring, an
apprenticeship in legal administration is what's on offer at most of the firms
running a formal scheme, with modules assessed via NVQs. At Plexus, the
apprenticeship is modeled on a training contract with a seat rotation round the
various legal support and administration departments.
This breadth of experience is an important part of Plexus's
strategy to keep hold of its "home grown" talent. "We're
certainly not looking for them to come and go after two years, we're investing
in them", she explains. In which case, does an apprenticeship risk molding you so
precisely to fit the firm you're trained in that you stand little or no chance
of ever moving on elsewhere? Yeo disagrees; particularly firms that specialises
in similar work, she believes the skill sets would be transferable.
"Our risk is that some of these people could transfer
out to other firms", Yeo admits, but she believes that by working closely
with apprentices and providing the utmost support and mentoring, as well as
offering pathways to senior roles and partnership, most will hopefully stay
long term.
If, as Bourne suggests, the ultimate goal of the higher
legal apprenticeships is for trainees on that pathway to be able to progress as
far as their abilities will allow them, it must be hoped that the upcoming
legal education and training review takes account of the growth in this area
and recommend a regulatory environment where qualification is equally possible
via academic and vocational routes. In doing so, perhaps the Neuberger's vision
of a rich and diverse profession will be realised.
Source: 9 January 2013, The Guardian by Hannah
Gannagé-Stewart
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