Social Mobility Day 2023: How apprenticeships are making businesses more socio-economically diverse

June 15, 2023 marks Social Mobility Day, an opportunity for all to consider the actions that businesses can take to improve social mobility, evaluate the effectiveness of social mobility strategies. and diversity strategies more generally, as well as celebrate the successful initiatives that are leading to more diverse workplaces.

Apprenticeships are often heralded as a key way of making workplaces, and industries, more socially diverse. In September 2021, we began our legal apprenticeship programmes, with a six-year Solicitor Apprenticeship in London and a two-year Paralegal Apprenticeship in Newcastle. Since then, our programme continues to grow and we are watching our apprentices develop with pride. We are also one of six firms spearheading the City Century initiative, Allen & Overy, Eversheds, Hogan Lovells, Linklaters,  and Osborne Clarke

With this rapid growth in solicitor apprenticeships, and the cross-industry recognition of the benefits for both businesses and future lawyers, we want to take this Social Mobility Day to explore the benefits of apprenticeships and, in particular, how they are making businesses more socio-economically diverse.

The burden of high-student debts is something that, for a long time, has pushed students away from a career in law. Something that Sharmin, a Solicitor Apprentice in our Corporate team, commented on, saying:

“Without the degree apprenticeship option, I would have found it very difficult to access university, let alone the legal profession. Many British Muslims are prevented from going to university due to the interest-bearing loan, as interest is prohibited in Islam. The solicitor apprenticeship provided a means for me to study law without compromising my faith.”

In addition to ‘opening up’ the profession by minimising the cost of education - often a key barrier to entry for many seeking to enter professions such as law - apprenticeships are helping to change long-held views on training and education.

Our Solicitor Apprentices spend one day of their working week at university, working towards completing an LLB law degree. The remaining time is spent immersed in the vast array of work that our firm undertakes. Something that Izzy, a second-year Solicitor Apprentice who sits in our Employment and Pensions team, commented on, saying:

“Throughout the apprenticeship, there will inevitably be steep learning curves, challenges and successes. The second year of my Solicitor Apprenticeship at NRF, has brought along with it a range of new experiences and opportunities which have been invaluable to my growth as an individual.”

Six years on from its creation, and with at least 40 firms participating, the solicitor apprenticeship programme is providing law firms with a wealth of young, home grown talent. 

This interest in apprenticeships has also been matched with a public commitment (the Pledge), initiated by Norton Rose Fulbright and signed up to by 25 leading law firms, to recognise UK legal apprenticeships as an equal pathway into a legal career, commit to recruiting and developing talent in line with a set of principles, and ensure that solicitor apprentices will be treated in an equivalent manner as those from the traditional training contract route.

Some have commented, however, that the noticeable benefits of apprenticeships are also drawing more privileged students away from university. In 2021, the Guardian found that applicants from BAME backgrounds were not getting through successfully to being offered roles. The stance in this article was for recruitment processes and initiatives to improve in a more inclusive manner, something that at Norton Rose Fulbright we work hard to ensure that we do. Similarly, an article written by FE Week reported that ministers need to shift apprenticeships back towards those from lower socio-economic backgrounds in order to address the growing disparity. 

At Norton Rose Fulbright, we partner with leading education charities that focus on social mobility, to run events, workshops and Q&As for students from low-income and disadvantages backgrounds. However, our Solicitor Apprenticeship is open to all A-level students and we recruit the best candidates with the drive and determination to commit to the programme and who we believe will make the best lawyers. We believe that the right way to respond to increased applications is simply to increase the number of apprenticeships on offer – a key driver of the City Century initiative.

One way in which firms can continue the positive trajectory of diversity in apprenticeships is by maintaining an innovative approach to recruitment. As Lamar, a first-year Solicitor Apprentice in our Disputes team, mentions:

“During my apprenticeship, I have also been involved in several volunteering opportunities with our early careers recruitment team. I have taken part in workshops and mock interviews with students of various ages; getting to work with local schools has been really fulfilling.”

Our apprentices, and trainee solicitors, often assist our early careers recruitment and pro bono teams on a number of different outreach projects, helping drive industry awareness of the success of our programmes to date and awareness within schools of the opportunities that exist.

I would like to thank Izzy James, Jake Burke, Lamar Mukundi and Sharmin Begum for co-authoring this post and them and all of our apprentices for being such wonderful ambassadors for Norton Rose Fulbright and for apprenticeship programmes.

For further details on the Pledge please contact Samuel Matravers.

Clementine Hogarth is a corporate lawyer Norton Rose Fulbright based in London. Clementine focuses on investment and general corporate advisory and transactional work for both listed and private companies and financial investors.

Clementine is co-chair and a founding member of the firm's employee social mobility network, Advance, and is one of the early careers recruitment partners who oversee Norton Rose Fulbright's UK graduate and apprentice recruitment programmes.