Why is it important to create a national paralegal apprenticeship framework?
It is important because there are many firms who are already doing some really good work in this area. These law firms hire young people and give them entry-level jobs. However, what is lacking is a nationally recognised framework that brings together all of the patches of good practice.
We want the development of a national framework for apprenticeships in the legal sector, to build on what has been done locally. The legal sector makes up £26.5bn of the UK's economic output, yet there are no nationally recognised apprenticeships for the sector. This is surprising given the number of apprenticeships that are available in the finance sector, tourism and other big drivers of the economy. It seems strange that there are none for the legal services sector. We are very keen to help move that on and create new ways of working in the sector within a nationally recognised structure.
Why do you think there is no nationally recognised structure within the sector?
I think it is historical. I think the Legal Services Act (2007) is bringing a lot of change to the legal services sector. Legal services are being offered and procured in different ways than they have been historically. I think that there is a pressure on the sector to potentially deliver services not only at a lower cost but in different ways.
I think firms and legal service providers are looking at a new way of working, which means employing a different type of individual to offer legal services. In the future, I don't think that legal services will necessarily be delivered by solicitors as much as they have been.
Who is Skills for Justice working with to create the framework?
We are working with several firms, large multi-million pound firms, who work on a regional, national and international basis such as Eversheds, DWF and Pinsent Masons. We are also working with smaller firms like Lyons Davidson, and Thomas Eggar. We are very keen to engage with firms on the High Street. We are also working with the professional bodies, so the Law Society, the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, the Legal Services Board and the Solicitors Regulation Authority are involved. We are very keen to engage with as many different providers of legal services as we can to shape this project.
We are also working with The Co-operative Legal Services which is interesting because they are actively looking to embrace an alternative business structure such as the Legal Services Act will allow.
Why do you think it is particularly important for employers to be involved in the creation of the framework from the beginning?
Without employer support these apprenticeships will not be of any value to anyone. Apprenticeships are quality assured through primary legislation, they are very carefully drafted to ensure there is employer support and buy-in for them. Apprenticeships have to add value to what a business does on a day-to-day basis rather than just a qualification for qualification’s sake. I think that developing an apprenticeship or any qualification that does not have employer support and does not add value to what employers do, in either the creation of wealth or delivery of excellent public service, then there is little point in doing it.
When do you expect the framework to be in place?
The framework will be available from April 2012 and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is leading the way on this. We imagine that the commercial sector will be able to have apprenticeship pathways in place by September 2013. Our thinking is that the apprenticeships will be another option for those people who started their AS Levels in September 2011 and when they finish these in the Summer of 2013 I hope that they will have a full suite of different Apprenticeship pathways to choose from as well as the degree route to begin a career in the Legal Sector.
Do you think developing a national set of standards will help counteract the view of the paralegal profession as a 'closed shop' for a lot of school leavers?
That is interesting – it depends on what you mean by the ‘paralegal profession’. There is not a clear nationally accepted definition of what a paralegal is or does. What we are trying to do is create awareness of these opportunities amongst school and college leavers. We are trying to create the awareness that if you want to work in a multi-million pound international business that offers legal services, you don't have to have a legal degree; there will be opportunities for you to work in these very exciting wealth-creating businesses, in a legal capacity, just not as a solicitor and not requiring a degree.
In terms of recruiting school leavers, how are you going to market it to them?
We are in discussion with a lot of firms about how best to take their paralegal or apprenticeship proposition to market. Some firms have very sophisticated local community and national engagement anyway. But we are looking to support this by raising awareness with students and their influencers like their parents and teachers. Whether this is through a careers service like Connexions, or helping firms engage locally, through helping them establish what demographic and local school they would like to target. We are trying to support firms, help them understand the market and get them to embrace a new type of employee not from their traditional recruitment pool.
Has there been any opposition to what you are doing?
We have found firms and the professional bodies to be supportive of what we are trying to achieve and we are very grateful for this. I expect there will be a full spectrum of take-up of the framework, it will fit some firm’s business models and not others which is natural. It seems we have tapped a real flow of energy within the sector. A lot of firms are doing a lot of great work in this area, and what we are doing is trying to create a national infrastructure around these pockets of good practice.
At a time when unemployment is high, do you envisage these entry routes being popular to both school leavers and adults returning to work?
This will create jobs within these businesses that have not existed before, and these opportunities will not just be open to school leavers, but anyone who wants to work in the sector. It will create jobs for those people who may not want to be solicitors, but who are looking for a rewarding job within a legal service provider. There are some interesting technical jobs that can flow from legal apprenticeships and lead to hugely rewarding careers within multi-national businesses.
Is the government supportive of the framework and is there funding available for those employers that do sign up to the apprenticeship programme?
There will be funding, depending on age, for apprentices that take on this apprenticeship pathway. So the government will be supporting it through the Skills Funding Agency and the National Apprenticeship Service, through the subsidisation of the cost of the qualification, as they would do in any other sector.
This has the potential to be the largest new apprenticeship framework to be hitting the UK economy in the next two to three years. There is no sector this large that doesn't have an apprenticeship framework – so the potential is huge. And we are very excited to be leading this work.