International firms Gowling WLG and Hill Dickinson announce new legal apprenticeship intakes

The apprenticeship route into law continues to gather pace, as international firms Gowling WLG and Hill Dickinson become the latest to announce new intakes of apprentices for September 2017.

Gowling WLG is expanding its apprenticeship programme this year with a new intake of 15 paralegal apprentices, following a successful pilot in which four apprentices were hired in 2016. The new apprentices will commence the Paralegal Apprenticeship with the intention that they progress onto either the Chartered Legal Executive Apprenticeship or the Solicitor Apprenticeship.

Meanwhile Hill Dickinson is recruiting its fifth annual intake of apprentices. Some 10 young people will complete the Paralegal Apprenticeship, with five each set to join the firm’s Liverpool and Manchester offices. And a further five apprentices will be recruited to follow the Intermediate Apprenticeship in Legal Administration at the firm’s Liverpool office.

Emma McAvinchey-Roberts, talent and development manager at Hill Dickinson, said: “Apprenticeships have proved a great way to recruit new talent. By selecting programmes for individual apprentices leading to qualification as either a legal administrator or a paralegal, we are able to tailor training to the job role.”

Chris Oglethorpe, head of HR at Gowling WLG, also commented on his firm’s embracing of apprenticeships: “We've had an excellent experience with our current apprentices and with CILEx Law School over the past two years. It has shown us that apprenticeships are a good way of recruiting and developing diverse talent. An added incentive for expanding the scheme is that we are able to apply our apprenticeship levy payments, which came into force on 6 April 2017, to good effect.”