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.
