Collette Paterson: Tweaking balance of trainee power in favour of students

Published on Sunday 2 May 2010 22:49

THE six top supermodels, they say, wouldn't get out of bed for less than $10,000. They had all the power, and the photographers and magazines didn't like it.

There is quite a different power balance between those seeking solicitor training contracts and those who can offer them in Scotland. Recession or no recession, the number of diploma graduates has never quite matched the number of traineeships. Understandably, students don't like it.

There may be benefits, but for sure there are drawbacks, of being 10,000 in number as we are in the Scottish solicitors' profession. We can spread messages within the profession quickly and with ease. But when it comes to traineeships in our small jurisdiction, it is more of a hushed tale.

The number of large firms absorbing rafts of trainees every year in Scotland, as happens in the City, is limited. Big businesses with in-house teams are largely in the big cities. Nearly half of our trainees will, therefore, be trained in a medium-sized firm or a smaller, high-street practice.

I did a quick calculation a year ago and worked out that, over the preceding five years, more than 80 per cent of diploma graduates would have secured a traineeship. But with the number of training contracts registered in 2009 only 72 per cent of those registered in 2008, and no spike anticipated this year, it is clear that the recovery will take some time. The society needs to help with a steady growth in traineeships.

We are doing so. At the end of last year, education and training launched a website to advertise summer placements and traineeships, a spin-off from lawscotjobs. By the end of 2010, we want this to be the first port of call for trainees and those seeking them. The site is free to advertise and for students seeking jobs.

Secondly, the education and training team is monitoring changes to funding for legal education, and the ease with which different types of practice feel they can take a trainee. Discussions with the government about possible access to justice issues associated with a drop in the supply of traineeships continue.

Thirdly, there has been a small survey on flexible options for the traineeship, which has just closed.

A key theme emerging from this work has been that there may be a lack of understanding within the profession of how flexible traineeships can be. The mix of secondments, shared traineeships and part-time training, all of which the admissions regulations allow, is clearly in need of a boost.

More interesting again, perhaps, are ideas emerging for the future, which the education and training committee will consider this week. These include the possibility of a break between years one and two, incentives to encourage smaller organisations to take trainees, more proactive guidance from the society on the process of taking a trainee, and the widening of secondment to include experience in non-legal environments for a defined period, such as a university or research role.

Something that could dramatically change how traineeships are regarded, and might develop in line with the establishment of learning outcomes for the traineeship – another project we are working on – has been the idea that unpaid work experience could count towards achievement of a traineeship. In this sort of system, training organisations would start where skills gained during the trainee's time as a student, for instance by volunteering at a law clinic or law centre, left off.

One controversial idea, which goes against the society's current policy, is that the number of traineeships would probably increase if trainees were able to offer their services free. While the society is not a party to the training contract, the regulator in no way condones or supports a trainee working for no pay. If this demonstrates feeling within the profession, the education and training committee must revisit this urgently.

Law graduates and trainees are skilled individuals looking to add value to our profession; they are not looking for $10,000 to turn up. We must work together as a profession to redress the power balance and ensure ours remains a sustainable profession.

&#149 Collette Paterson is the deputy director of education and training at the Law Society of Scotland.