Bright idea: apprenticeships capture intelligent people who wouldn't normally be on the radar

As a former apprentice himself, Stephen Gowland, president of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and sole partner of his own firm in Durham, is passionate about training.

He speaks to Solicitors Journal’s Laura Clenshaw about how apprenticeships will change
firms’ work flow, as well as what needs to be done to improve inter-industry relations.

Could firms see apprentices
as a cost-saving exercise,
given the financial instability of
the market?

It shouldn’t be seen as a downgrading or a cost-saving exercise. It’s about investing in
a young person’s future and building them from the
ground up.

That’s the big advantage
of apprenticeships: you get somebody in, generally quite young, perhaps, who hasn’t
been to university, and the employer can mould them
into exactly what they want.
You can get apprentices to
work to your standards.

Big player firms like Kennedys and DAC Beachcroft who’ve taken on apprentices wouldn’t have done so without consideration. You’ve just got to look at the apprenticeships in the accountancy industry to see how well it works. It also creates more loyalty because the employer is actually investing in the young person’s future.

Is it more work taking on
an apprentice?

It’s an investment but it does
pay off. The reason why bigger firms are taking on apprentices is because they realise they can capture bright intelligent people who normally wouldn’t even be on their radar.

CILEx has joined the government’s Trailblazer apprenticeship scheme. How
is this different from what CILEx already offers?

It’s a natural extension of what we do. We see ourselves as the leader of vocational education.

It doesn’t dilute or make the normal route that our members go down any less important. It gives people choices and different ways to get into law.

How is it working with Trailblazer partners SRA, education providers and firms?

We’ve always worked very well with law firms and they value our members, so it’s a natural fit.

I’ve always been a great believer that there should be more cooperation and collaboration in the profession. There’s too much separation.

I can say it means the SRA want to get onboard with apprenticeships now and are accepting what CILEx has been doing for years.

What is CILEx’s advice to graduates who are unable to find a training contract but
feel they are too old for the CILEx route?

You’re never too old – and there’s always been a shortage of training contracts. People are waking up to the fact that you

can qualify as a lawyer through different means. You don’t have to give up your hopes and dreams, you can become a lawyer via CILEx. A lot of law graduates find employment but as paralegals, not trainees.

What I would say to them is join CILEx and the time you work as a paralegal acts as qualifying employment to becoming a lawyer. If you never get that training contract, you qualify as a lawyer with the same rights.

Age shouldn’t be an issue if you want to be a lawyer. You might be 21 or 41.

Is encouraging diversity key? Some 74 per cent of CILEx members are women and
32 per cent of students are
from a BAME background.

We’re seen as non-exclusive. Everybody’s welcome. CILEx has never been a big, scary organisation. Attracting people
is actually easier now given university fees. Our fees are around £7,000 for the whole course compared to £9,000 a year for university tuition.

That encourages diversity because there’s no financial bar. Whereas now, going to university, unfortunately, may become the type of education you can only afford if you’ve
got money behind you.

Are there exclusive areas of
the profession?

Sometimes. Whether or not they actually are there, the impression is still made.

The profession’s always had that aura, which probably attracts people to it in the first place. You’ve read in the papers about how certain firms want to take graduates from Oxbridge. And it confirms the exclusivity.

The industry sometimes doesn’t help itself. People
think, if they’re from, a slightly less privileged or different background then maybe it’s
not for them.

Response to the SRA’s Training for Tomorrow consultation has mostly been positive. As one
of the contributors, are you happy with the feedback they’ve received?

Anything that aims to reduce regulation is a good thing. Excessive regulation takes the pleasure out of the job in
some ways.

Having met the lord chancellor, it seems that the government are keen to reduce regulation as well. Over the ten years I’ve run my own firm, I’ve noticed the difference. I’ve had to supply lots of extra things: financial data and quality and diversity data.

I’m only a small firm. I only employ two and half people. It can be quite relentless.

Unfortunately, as a member regulated by the SRA, I can say there’s no real engagement. I recall last year getting an email regarding the quality survey. I sent it back about four to five weeks before it was due, and then got an email from the SRA saying: “Why haven’t you sent this in? This is to remind you of your professional obligations.”

I re-sent a copy of the
original and said more or less clearly you haven’t received this email, but the tone and the attitude of their email was not conducive to building a decent relationship. I asked for a response and got none.

Reducing regulation will help but the engagement side of the profession needs to improve. There’s a danger that the profession will become more and more alienated in the way it’s regulated, which is never a good thing in any industry.

@DisputeResso, asks if you believe the end of the hourly rate is at hand?

We just have to wait and see what comes back from the justice committee. A lot of firms already do certain things
for fixed fees.

@ablelearner asks how technology is being integrated into the industry, especially with regards to open educational resources?

Distance learning has been part of CILEx’s setup for years and it’s far beyond what it used to be. You get feedback on tests and papers from tutors by email.

The fact that you can email rather than send a letter is really valuable. The firms that are successful are the ones that are innovative and use technology.

Technology is developing at
a massive rate and it’s scary sometimes. I’m all for technology, but you’ve got to be careful not to depersonalise the service you give. There’s a danger of removing yourself more and more from the client with the use of technology.

For me, the most pleasure I get from the job is the satisfaction of helping a person who appreciates what you’ve done for them. SJ

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