The Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeship (GSA) is a new and increasingly popular route to qualification here in the UK. A tripartite effort between apprentice, firm and higher education institution (HEI), the GSA combines academic teaching, hands on, paid work, and preparation for the Solicitor’s Qualifying Examination (SQE). With promising SQE results, great firm buy-in and opportunities to be a fully-funded route through the apprenticeship levy, the GSA has a lot to offer. In this article, we speak with Steven Sutherland, Solicitor and Head of Group Training at The PM Law Group, on how he has successfully begun delivery of the GSA in partnership with the College of Legal Practice.
You made the decision in early 2024 to follow the GSA route for your trainees. How was that received across the firm?
“We were delighted as a firm when we discovered this route was available. We do a lot of graduate recruitment, and post LLB we have found that some students are a little overwhelmed at the prospect of the SQE, as it’s very different to the more structured academic style of learning they are used to. With the GSA we get that clearly defined structure that recent graduates are more familiar with when they are fresh out of university, so it’s a great fit.
We’ve found that the funding through the apprenticeship levy is also really appealing for us as a firm, and for our trainees. We can get a lot of talented individuals through the programme, leaving fully qualified. We found that with the SQE-only route, some trainees were falling behind, and we weren’t able to keep tabs on what areas of law they were struggling with. With the GSA, we’re more heavily involved in their progress, and as such, can spot where they’re coming across gaps and support them more preemptively. We’re utilising the tripartite approach to learning here by getting as much as we can out of the College coaches to spot these gaps too. It’s a great relationship and has a positive impact on progression.”
Sometimes more traditional firms experience resistance to the concept of an apprenticeship route to qualification. Have you found this in your firm?
“If you’d asked this question five years ago, I’d likely have said yes. However, the landscape of law is changing significantly - and as a result, when we brought about integrating the GSA we got wholly positive feedback across all levels within The PM Law Group. The new GSA cohort has had incredible support across our team at the highest levels - as a result we’re able to confidently tell trainees that this is the way The PM Law Group will get you qualified internally. It’s working really well.”
We see the GSA as a tripartite relationship between apprentice, HEI and firm with clear accountabilities for each party. How have The PM Law Group ensured those responsibilities are defined from the offset?
“The three parties within the GSA really must take clear ownership of what roles they have. The learner has to own their progression, the employer must recognise their active position within the programme, and the HEI must deliver on their academic teaching. We’ve absolutely found this to be the case with our GSA trainees and The College of Legal Practice.
The important thing, we’ve found, is that we can’t be passive at any stage. We can’t just hand the programme off to the HEI we’ve contracted in. It’s about all of us getting stuck in. We have delegated ownership of the GSA to devoted members of our team in-house and each learner has a clear contact to discuss things with. We’ve trained up our supervising colleagues so that they really understand how the GSA operates, and where they are situated in the processes with the apprentices. The last thing I want is to hand this role off to line managers who could focus too much on the work contribution and not enough on the learning aspects - so we made sure that those who are involved in the GSA are fully bought in and see their involvement as a new responsibility as opposed to an extension of line management. They want to see our apprentices progress in all areas of the programme. I see ourselves very much as part of this programme. It’s a collaboration with the learners and The College of Legal Practice to make sure we can get success in this.”
What was the onboarding process with The College of Legal Practice like for The PM Law Group?
“We felt that the process was great. The learners were happy, and they were clear on timelines of what to expect and when. They met their tutors nice and early and we also found that the frontloading of physical and digital materials was really proactive. A lot of our apprentices are young and thirsty for progression - so having the manual from day one meant they could get to grips with the course straight way.”
What are your hopes for the future of this programme?
“Our hope is to create more solicitors, and this is a great avenue where we can create more solicitors at an incredible cost to us. Also, because we’re investing in them we get loyalty back. They see we’ve supported them well and given them an opportunity to do more complicated work in a supportive environment, so we hope they then repay us by continuing their career with The PM Law Group. I’m keen for this programme to work long term and want this to be our preferred model going forward - we want to get law graduates qualified while getting them involved in meaningful work, and this programme allows that.”
Explore The PM Law Group's graduate recruitment.
Thank you to The PM Law Group for sharing their time and wisdom with us. The content for this article was gathered from a People in Law webinar in collaboration with The College of Legal Practice.