Supply of Higher Apprenticeships to the Welsh Legal Services Sector

Descriptions

Skills for Justice has secured funding to develop and implement a new Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship (L4 HA) that can meet firms’ growing need for fee-earning Legal Services Staff (“Paralegals”). The Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship in Legal Services builds on the recent creation of National Occupational Standards, a L4 HA in England and expected further developments in England at Level 3.The aim of the project is to develop and pilot innovative and sustainable delivery mechanisms to support the implementation of the Higher Level Apprenticeship framework for the Welsh Legal Services sector. We anticipate the majority of delivery to take place in the South West region due to the high concentration of legal practices in Cardiff and the expansion in recent years of Swansea based legal practices.We have a number of regionally significant legal firms engaging with us both on our development phase as well as expressing an interest in this delivery phase. A number of these firms have existing employees they have already identified as being suitable for the Higher Apprenticeship in Legal Services and we now seek a provider that can work with us to meet this early demand in Apprenticeship take up from this vital sector. We will also work with the contractor of these services and carry out further engagement activity with the legal services sector between now and September to support sustainable delivery of this new Higher Apprenticeship in Legal Services.The delivery model must maximise completion rates, provide a quality learner experience and create opportunities for learners from non-traditional backgrounds. The delivery model also needs to ensure that it is flexible and responsive to the employer’s requirements and that employers have a quality experience throughout the project.