Opportunities to train and ‘grow your own’ staff

Qualifying work experience –opportunities to train and ‘grow your own’ staff

The new Solicitors Qualifying examination (SQe) is now live. instead of the current system where multiple training providers - and law firms - assess whether aspiring solicitors have met a certain standard, the SQe means there is now a single, rigorous assessment.

It should help bolster confidence of both the public and firms that everyone who qualifies has met the same, high standard. Importantly the SQE, in particular the approach to gaining qualifying work experience (QWE), also provides much greater flexibility around how people can train and gain the skills and experience they need to qualify.

Until now, all aspiring solicitors have to secure two-year training contracts, with prescriptive expectations as to what is covered, including until recently the need to offer different seats.

The result was that many good candidates - often having spent many thousands up-front on the Legal Practice Course - became stuck, unable to get a training contract. It also meant that many employers - often sole practitioners and smaller firms, as well as in-house teams - were put off taking on trainees.

What the new approach to work experience means for firms

The SQE provides much greater flexibility in this area, creating new opportunities for candidates and firms.

The new approach to QWE means that every law firm or organisation offering legal services can play a part in training future solicitors themselves. It is a lot less burdensome as firms no longer need to: • be authorised by us to offer QWE • nominate a training principal • offer two-year placements - up to four smaller periods of work at different employers can still count • sign off on a candidate’s competence - the

SQE assessments are there to do that • All of this means there is greater flexibility for sole practitioners to take on and train aspiring solicitors in a way that works for their businesses. It also offers opportunities to develop existing staff who are well placed to gain their QWE and take the assessments.

Both options mean you can ‘grow your own’ with all that means for retention and your confidence in your staff.

If you work in a niche area of law, again this could present opportunities for trainee to work with you for a period, and go elsewhere, perhaps to another local small firm or sole practice, to gain different experience.

Confirming a candidates QWE

For QWE to count, a solicitor (or compliance officer) needs to confirm the time a candidate has spent gaining meaningful legal experience. If you give a placement to a candidate, we will need you to confirm: • how long they worked for • that they gained experience of delivering legal services and had the opportunity to develop some or all of the skills outlined in our competence statement and • that no suitability issues that would raise questions about them being admitted to the profession arose.

When it comes to QWE, we do not prescribe what full time or any equivalent period might be – we will leave that to you as employers to take a common-sense view on what it might include.

We’re not asking you to confirm that they are good enough to be a solicitor. Nor do they need to be exposed to all competences, although it’s in their best interests to have as wide an experience as possible. But this is an important part of the process, and you must be in a position through your own work with the candidate to confirm their placement.

There is a responsibility on the candidate to provide evidence to the relevant solicitor that they had the opportunity to get exposure to some or all of the competences, so this isn’t a teacher/pupil relationship. You can find out more in our guidance about signing off QWE here: https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/colpsconfirming-qualifying-work-experience/. What doesn’t count as QWe

As long as a placement offers an opportunity for exposure to some or all of the competences, it meets the time criteria and is confirmed by a solicitor, it is likely to count as QWE.A firm or solicitor could not refuse to confirm QWE without good reason, in the context of our rules.

However, there are some circumstances where experience is unlikely to count. If somebody is doing an ongoing, single, repetitive and limited task for the duration of a placement, such as proof reading for 24 months, it is unlikely to be QWE. Also, simulated legal services will not count. It must involve doing real life legal work, so candidates get to experience how solicitors work in practice, with real clients.

Get ahead of the game

Some of you might already be thinking about offering placements, developing staff or perhaps the potential benefits of taking on an apprentice, where training costs are covered through the apprenticeship levy.

If you haven’t had time to think about the opportunities - particularly given the challenges of the last 18 months - and want more information you can find helpful advice and tips about obligations in the QWE for employers’ section of our website: https:// www.sra.org.uk/trainees/qualifying-workexperience/qualifying-work-experienceemployers/

Even if you don’t think you want to take on any SQE trainees at the moment, you might also want to think through how you will manage a former employee or current paralegal requesting that you confirm their QWE. For instance, it would be sensible to think about keeping records in a way that would enable you to deal with requests for confirmation of QWE. And you might want to have conversations with staff to understand their expectations.

We know many people prefer to hear these types of changes talked through. So we have produced a series of interactive webinars on QWE, including what it means for law firms. You can find them on www.youtube.com/ SRAsolicitors, or go to www.sra.org.uk/sqe for everything you need on the SQE.

jane Malcolm, Executive Director, External and Corporate Affairs