Supply of Higher Apprenticeships to 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.The aim of the ITT is to identify a suitable contractor to deliver 50% (see definition below) of the new Level 4 Legal Services Apprenticeship once developed to 30 learners by the end of November 2014.50% of Apprenticeship delivery MUST have been completed by end November 2014 and all funding claims MUST also have been submitted by this date. This to include:• 100% completion of 3 x ESWs (anticipated L3 Comms / L2 AON / L2 ICT)• 100% completion of ERR component• Minimum 50% of knowledge qualification units• Minimum 60% of the on the job training hoursThe project is supported by The Sector Priorities Fund Pilot Programme (SPFP Programme) a Welsh Government and European Social Fund initiative managed by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). The Programme aims to pilot strategic project activity with Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) in order to inform recommendations that will ensure the delivery of post-16 skills provision is more responsive and aligned to the needs of employers.All SPFP projects must end by December 2014, including all project reporting and financial returns therefore 50% (as defined above) of the full framework delivery (across the cohort of 30 learners) must be completed by the end of November 2014. As part of this project and in the lifespan of SPFP, we will work with Welsh Government and the successful contractor to support the identification of an appropriate funding route and mechanism to support the cohort of 30 learners progressing onto further learning to complete their Apprenticeship framework between December 2014 and June 2015.