Apprenticeship Set-Up

Attraction of talent

Since setting up her company, Joanna has developed deep relationships with UCAS and Not Going to Uni. Joanna is a member of the UCAS Apprenticeship Stakeholder Group and has presented on webinars for them.

UCAS has developed its apprenticeship offering at pace since 2021. As well as having solicitor apprenticeship opportunities listed on Career Finder and a Law and Legal Studies Industry Guide for students on legal apprenticeships, the charity has many offerings to assist employers in attracting talent, ranging from a Talent Finder product to the Apprenticeship Application tool which will be launching in Autumn 2024.

Joanna also has relationships with many specialised outreach organisations (charities, not-for-profit and companies) and has worked with several of them to spread awareness of solicitor opportunities to as many schools as possible across the country. These organisations will make school pupils, teachers and parents aware of your offering by, for example, speaking in assemblies, and arranging online career fairs and in-person events such as Work Experience Days or Insight Days. Many also support candidates through the application process. Joanna can help you identify the best fit for what you want to achieve.

Don’t forget also to follow the work of organisations like the Multicultural Apprenticeship Alliance and the Multicultural Apprenticeship Awards – Joanna is a Patron for the former and a Judge with the latter – both can be found on LinkedIn.

Recruitment of talent

You will need to navigate the various options from social enterprises to global recruitment and assessment companies. If you are recruiting solicitor apprentices in part to increase the socio-economic diversity of your lawyers, Joanna can help you make adjustments to the recruitment process you have traditionally used. There are also new companies on the market now that combine the fields of neuroscience, business psychology and AI to create online assessments that identify talent and potential with high accuracy and no bias.

Choosing your training provider

An apprenticeship training provider is an organisation that delivers education and training programmes to apprentices.

The ISE’s ‘Complete Guide to Student Recruitment and Development’ warns: “If you are just starting with apprenticeships, the procurement process for an apprenticeship training provider can be complex, especially if you do not have the experience and knowledge in-house. Bringing in an apprenticeship expert to guide you through these initial stages will help you make the right decisions and save you time and money”.

Joanna can assist you to choose from the main training providers for solicitor and paralegal apprenticeships. In addition to existing providers, Joanna is liaising with some traditional Universities who are looking at offering solicitor apprenticeships.

Designing the solicitor apprenticeship programme

Joanna recommends starting the design of your programme early, at the same time that you start your outreach and recruitment. There are lots of stakeholders to consult and get on board.

Mentoring and networking for solicitor apprentices

It is important that proper attention is paid to creating the right support structure for your solicitor apprentices from the moment they are offered a role.

Book a call or meeting with Joanna

Joanna’s advisory services on solicitor apprenticeships are available at a daily rate, but there is no charge for an initial call or in-person meeting to discuss your current  requirements