The UK government has announced it will be pouring £1m into a new apprenticeship programme which will allow wannabe lawyers to train as paralegals without the need for a degree.
The paralegal programme, to be provided by Pearson, will be open from next year. Students who sit the 18 month course will combine their studying with working as paid apprentices in law firms, according to a Legal Week report. The idea is to train paralegals for a wide range of work in a variety of firms from international giants to small high street outfits. It will be left to the firms to decide how much to pay the paralegals, although they'll have to stump up at least £2.60 an hour (the national minimum wage for apprentices). Pearson says it will be encouraging firms to err on the side of generosity.
The scheme seems well-timed, now that three years at university will cost £21k even before such luxuries as food and rent. By providing school leavers with an alternative route into law that's also paid (however stingily), Pearson hopes more people from disadvantaged backgrounds may enter a career previously open only to graduates.
Of course anyone mistrustful of government-backed schemes can always try the Aston Carter route. All you need to do is stump up £9,500 for an unaccredited paralegal training course to be provided by a student recruitment company which has never run a paralegal course before, but does run a college in Lithuania. Tempting.
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The paralegal programme, to be provided by Pearson, will be open from next year. Students who sit the 18 month course will combine their studying with working as paid apprentices in law firms, according to a Legal Week report. The idea is to train paralegals for a wide range of work in a variety of firms from international giants to small high street outfits. It will be left to the firms to decide how much to pay the paralegals, although they'll have to stump up at least £2.60 an hour (the national minimum wage for apprentices). Pearson says it will be encouraging firms to err on the side of generosity.
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Apprentices surviving on £2.60 an hour yesterday |
The scheme seems well-timed, now that three years at university will cost £21k even before such luxuries as food and rent. By providing school leavers with an alternative route into law that's also paid (however stingily), Pearson hopes more people from disadvantaged backgrounds may enter a career previously open only to graduates.
Of course anyone mistrustful of government-backed schemes can always try the Aston Carter route. All you need to do is stump up £9,500 for an unaccredited paralegal training course to be provided by a student recruitment company which has never run a paralegal course before, but does run a college in Lithuania. Tempting.
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