Law firms “abusing” the apprenticeship levy, says Law Society Council member; firms reveal fears over SQE

Large firms are misusing the apprenticeship levy to fund traditional graduate training, Law Society Council member James Kitching has said in a recent column for the Law Gazette.   

Instead of adopting “innovative new models” in line with the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), Kitching suggests that some firms are choosing to keep the traditional training contracts and in turn candidates are being treated as apprentices to enable such firms to make use of the levy for funding.

Kitching said: “Setting aside my disappointment that these firms are not taking the chance to move towards a more innovative model, a greater concern is that this approach is a misuse of the apprenticeship levy with respect to its original purpose.”

Law firms’ use of the levy is being assessed by the Law Society’s education and training committee, which said it will “carefully continue to analyse the issues involved, considering all sides of the debate”, according to the Law Gazette.

Meanwhile, in association with The University of Law, Legal Cheek surveyed 43 graduate recruitment and learning and development professions at City law firms. Around 70% of respondents said candidates will require a more “thorough” course to fully prepare them for training contracts or qualifying work experience (QWE), with the SQE alone deemed not sufficient preparation for students due to start their QWE.

Of the 43 respondents, 19% said that students who pass SQE1 and SQE2 prior to their training will be sufficiently prepared, while 12% said that SQE1 alone will be enough to prepare aspiring lawyers for their QWE, with SQE2 preparing candidates for on-the-job learning during their training.