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Legal Apprenticeships could see you hired before you even qualify
2012-01-25 16:58:40
You could be forgiven for thinking that becoming a lawyer involves attending university, sitting in hours upon hours of lectures and leaving with masses of student debt, and that’s before you even find a job.
Well you don’t actuallyhave to do any of that at all if you choose The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) route.
Trainee Chartered Legal Executive lawyers usually combine their study with working and our students find that combination works perfectly around their lifestyleand career goals.
Chartered Legal Executive lawyers are fully qualified lawyers and can be found working in 60% of the top law firms in the country; many also supervise other lawyers, such as solicitors, or instruct barristers some also become advocates or go on to be a judge. Since 1989, over 92,500 people have chosen an apprenticeship style route to become a lawyer.
Training to be a lawyer while in legal employment also means your pockets don’t have to be empty: CILEX students typically earn between £15,000 and £28,000 a year as they move up through their studies. OK, so that’s not mega bucks but once qualified you canexpect to earn £35,000 - £55,000, and can earn much higher, particularly if you work in a big city or become a partner in a firm.
Take Kate Smith for example. She wanted to go to university, but it just didn’t work out. Now she says that was actually a blessing in disguise. At just 21 Kate is earning a competitive salary while she studies.
“I’m earning money and I’m a valued member of the team. The studies can be hard, as you’d expect, but they’re funded by my employer” says Kate.
Kate is also not unusual in having her CILEX fees paid for by her employer. Around 75% of employers fund their staff to become Chartered Legal Executive Lawyers. Even if your employer can’t pay for your studies, the entire CILEX route only costs £7000 to complete, so you’ll still have money left over to pay for a car, summer holiday or even save up for a house.
As we’re telling you this CILEX is continuing to make ‘Legal Apprenticeship’ even more accessible. We are joining forces with Skills for Justice (Legal Services Sector Skills Council), the National Apprenticeship Service, and other key sector stakeholders to develop an apprenticeship framework for non-lawyer staff employed in Legal Services.
CILEX has always been committed to the development of the idea of the Legal Apprentice in all forms and we’ll continue to help refine and improve the options available to those wanting to study law.
If you are interested in finding out more about CILEX’s involvement in legal apprenticeships and how you might too gain a CILEX qualification, then visit www.ilexcareers.org.uk. Why not also follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/ilexlawyers.
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Tweet 2012-01-27 10:42
Studying vocationally is just one way of gaining higher education and as University isn't an option for a lot of people, either through the way they prefer to learn or cost, offering a vocational 'apprentice style' courses is a must
I'm sure the writer would also have loved to have gone on for hours about the ins and outs of the course but as they didn't have space they have pointed you to websites for further info.
Why are you also hinting that an Apprenticeship is not a professional qualification? That's a bit harsh on those that have studied hard to gain qualification through vocational learning.
