Legal apprenticeships are becoming a popular option for law firms.  

The legal sector has always been competitive – firms fighting over the best talent and trying to retain their highest performers. The need for rigorous, high-quality training has never been greater, so many firms are choosing to train talent in-house using legal apprenticeships.  

Since the level 7 solicitor apprenticeship was introduced in 2016, future lawyers can progress from a school leaver all the way to a qualified solicitor, without accruing student debt. It’s a great deal for candidates, and it’s a great way for firms to recruit the best talent, sooner. Firms can also use apprenticeships to upskill their current staff and increase staff retention. 

Another benefit for employers is that the training fees are paid for them if they pay the apprenticeship levy. And even if they don’t pay the levy, 90% of training fees are covered by the Government.  

So now firms are convinced about apprenticeships, why should they use OneFile to deliver training? 

1. Collaboration  

To make an apprenticeship work, employers, learners and training providers need to work together. This can often be a challenge – but not with OneFile. All users can access their learner’s portfolio online, so they can leave feedback, plan activities or send messages. Everything’s available at the touch of a button, so it’s easy to work as a team. 

2. Learning resources 

With OneFile, apprentices can access learning resources online, link content to training activities and map it to criteria. It means instead of wasting time travelling to the library and writing up notes, learners can access their entire reading list online – it’s quick, convenient and paper free.   

3. Off-the-job training  

Apprentices spend 6 hours of the working week off the job studying law online or at university. While they’re there, they need to record their learning and gather evidence of their activities, so it counts towards the minimum requirement. With OneFile, apprentices can upload evidence and simply select whether or not it was completed off the job. OneFile will then calculate how many hours they’ve completed as a percentage of their total contracted hours – it's off-the-job training made easy.  

4. Easy tracking  

Legal apprentices need to be closely monitored throughout their course to make sure they’re getting the best quality training. With OneFile, employers and providers can track their apprentice online, identify any learning gaps and plan training accordingly.  

5. Flexibility 

Apprenticeships are all about flexibility – so our software is too. You can customise it to suit your way of working, upload your own content and use it for all types of training – from apprenticeships to continuing competence.  

6. Save money  

With OneFile, apprentices are more engaged in their programme and complete their course in less time. The entire apprenticeship journey is recorded, tracked and managed online, so there’s no paper, printing or storage costs to take care of – delivering savings of up to £300 per learner per year.   

7. Support 

Apprenticeships may be new for solicitors, but they’re not new to OneFile. We’ve been supporting apprentices in all different sectors for decades. Our software is tried and tested, so it has everything you need to manage legal apprenticeships.  

 

To find out more about OneFile and how it can be used to deliver legal apprenticeships, download our free guide.