Government approves Trailblazer apprenticeships; SRA and CILEx delighted

The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Education have jointly announced that the apprenticeship standards for the Trailblazers in Law initiative have been approved, ensuring that the scheme can now move on to the second phase of development.

Under Trailblazers, a legal apprentice will be able to qualify as a solicitor, chartered legal executive or paralegal through workplace-based training. The SRA, ILEX Professional Standards Limited and the Law Society have worked closely over the past year with a number of firms and other employers from across the profession to agree the new set of standards.

Skills Minister Nick Boles said: "I'm delighted to see the development of a new apprenticeship standard leading to qualification as a solicitor. Since 2010 there have been 1.8 million apprenticeship starts and solicitors are leading by example in the development and delivery of high quality apprenticeships that give people the chance of successful careers and help businesses get the skills they need to grow."

Vicky Purtill, head of qualifications at CILEx, said: “The CILEx Apprenticeships in Legal Services, which were launched in 2013, were the first of their kind and employer participation has already been sector-wide. There is mounting interest in legal apprenticeships and the Trailblazers framework will enhance the profile and scope of this accessible and affordable route into law.” Chief executive of the SRA, Paul Philip, added: "The Trailblazers initiative promotes the aims we are pursuing separately in our Training for Tomorrow agenda to enable more flexible routes to qualification as a solicitor while retaining robust standards."