Browne Jacobson is spearheading a new apprenticeship scheme to offer school leavers an alternative route into the legal profession.
The initiative has been set up in partnership with Vision West Nottinghamshire College and ILEX Tutorial College, which is the wholly owned college of The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx).
The scheme will offer up to six apprentices from Nottinghamshire the opportunity to gain valuable employment at one of the region’s leading law firms whilst gaining industry recognised qualifications.
Based at Browne Jacobson’s modern new headquarters at Mowbray House, the apprentices will support the firm’s Technical Claims, Education and Property teams with a range of business support functions. In addition ILEX Tutorial College, in partnership with Vision West Nottinghamshire College, will take the apprentices through the Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship in Legal Administration. The training element will be supplemented with additional legal specific modules on areas such as the law of tort and civil litigation from CILEX’s Level 3 qualifications.
The scheme is timely, following the recent news that applications for university courses this autumn have fallen by more than eight percent amongst UK students, with rising tuition fees clearly making a lot of young people think twice before going into higher education.
Speaking on the initiative, Susan Mabbott, Partner at Browne Jacobson, said: “This is a very exciting initiative for us and our partners. All the training is accredited, and in Vision West Nottinghamshire College and ILEX Tutorial College we have two outstanding training providers.
“As a local employer we have a commitment to invest in the future of the communities we serve. We firmly believe that this new apprenticeship pathway, with its opportunity of immediate work and the chance to study towards a credible qualification without racking up a mountain of debt, will prove an attractive proposition to many young people.”
Legal Services Manager, Sally Swift, who is leading the project on behalf of Browne Jacobson, commented: “The recruitment process has already started through Vision Apprentices and we are really keen to hear from any local students who have achieved strong A level grades. We want to break the mould and dispel any myths that young people have to go to university in order to have a successful career in the legal sector.
“The national Legal Services Apprenticeship is expected to be available in spring 2013 and will open up new opportunities for young people in the county. However as a forward thinking firm we decided to develop an alternative route in the meantime. This marks the beginning of an inspiring career pathway into the legal profession.”
Sandra Cowley, Head of Employer Engagement at Vision West Nottinghamshire College said: “We are incredibly proud to be part of this innovative partnership that has by working together been able to create a unique offer for local young people.”
Jenny Pelling, Business Director at ILEX Tutorial College, added: “It’s encouraging to see such a highly regarded employer as Browne Jacobson addressing the much debated need to broaden access to the legal profession. We’re delighted to be working with all the partners on this project. It comes at a time when the profession is really starting to embrace the concept of apprenticeships, with the development work for Level 3 and Level 4 Legal Services Apprenticeships set to deliver paralegal apprenticeships in 2013.”
