Legal Apprenticeship reforms: the opportunity and a call for action

I have seen the challenges around access to and progression within the legal profession in several guises. First in practice then, for the last 16 years, working with legal services employers and apprentices as managing director of an apprenticeship provider, Damar Training. In partnership with employers, we have achieved a lot: developing the very first legal apprenticeship and helping several thousand apprentices go on to careers as legal administrators, paralegals, Chartered Legal Executives, Licensed Conveyancers and solicitors. There are some fantastic success stories, such as this one (from this year’s annual report by the Social Mobility Commission), about former Damar apprentice and now Chartered Legal Executive, Jordan Coulton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CToj2uOWQto (from 3.21 to 4.01). We’re not alone: other providers, notably ULaw, BPP and CILEX also deliver legal apprenticeships and the number of apprentices is growing. 

But in order for apprenticeships to really deliver on their potential there’s work to do, both on the apprenticeships themselves and on raising awareness of the impact they can make.  

The challenges around diversity, inclusion and the depth and breadth of talent available to the sector are well known. 22% of qualified lawyers were privately educated, compared to 7% of the general population. Many law graduates spend £60,000 or more on their education only to find they cannot get a job. Access is harder for those from ethnic minority and socially disadvantaged backgrounds, those with disabilities and older entrants.  

Many in the sector are still unaware that Government and Apprenticeship Levy funding can pay for almost all the training costs of their future lawyers, including solicitors. Spent effectively, this represents a fantastic opportunity for the sector and for future lawyers. 

Current apprenticeships are quite effective at replicating current routes to qualification. They also mirror their shortcomings. Progression routes are too complex and poorly spaced, and their siloed structure makes sideways movement almost impossible. Six-year solicitor apprenticeships are a challenge for smaller firms and for candidates, particularly those from non-traditional backgrounds or who may benefit from being able to pause or “step off” the pathway at an intermediate stage. There is nothing for those wishing to become advanced paralegals. Transferring between different routes – licensed conveyancer, Chartered Legal Executive and solicitor – is all but impossible.  

The good news is that work is underway to improve the current apprenticeships and that employers from across the sector have the chance to influence the reform. Get it right and we will have a clear, comprehensive and high-quality pathway that allows future lawyers to step on at any point from school leaver to graduate and progress as far as their potential allows. It will widen the pool of talent available to employers and provide opportunities for many of those who currently face barriers. The pathway will complement, not replace, current routes. 

At Damar, we are pushing for better conversations across the sector and an overarching vision for legal apprenticeships that supports the creation of a sector that is more diverse, inclusive, healthy and successful. These conversations need to include as many as possible of the 12,000 or so law firms, their clients and current and future apprentices.  

It matters. Ours is the second biggest legal services market in the world. It generates £40b of direct revenue a year and is a significant net exporter. 

There are three ways to get involved: 

1. Contribute to the review currently underway by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (now extended to 18th November): https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/about/newshub/news-events/have-your-say-on-the-future-of-legal-finance-and-accounting-skills-training/
2. Join one of the employer trailblazer groups working on individual legal apprenticeships. Email helen.dalton@education.gov.uk. 
3. Join the employer group developing the new T Level in Law. Email andrew.hambelton@pearson.com. 

There’s more at https://damartraining.com/news/2022/a-more-diverse-inclusive-healthy-and-successful-legal-sector/ as well as a detailed paper here: https://damartraining.com/news/2022/vocational-legal-education-in-england/.