Co-op to launch learning academy with Man Met

The Co-operative Legal Services (CLS) has entered into a partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) to establish a new learning academy, which will provide legal training that is designed to accommodate current and future changes in the legal profession, including the rise of alternative business structures (ABS) and non-traditional career paths.

The academy is due to be launched this September and will be open to new recruits and existing CLS practitioners of all legal career paths and levels of seniority. Learning will be delivered by MMU law and business academics, who will incorporate CLS's existing apprenticeship scheme and MMU postgraduate legal programmes to introduce specially-designed pathways that are geared toward the requirements of the ABS environment. They will also uphold the values of the Co-operative Group. It is hoped that the learning academy will increase inclusivity in the legal profession by broadening the various routes to different legal careers, including a vocational pathway.

Gill Higgins, head of HR at CLS, said: "Our new partnership with MMU will allow us to provide a unique learning and development programme for our employees, while also supporting the business in developing a talent pipeline. This will ensure that each and every career path is valued and that development and qualification ambitions can be met. We believe that this partnership will help us to ensure that we have the right skills, knowledge and experience within our business to achieve our goal of making the law as accessible and unintimidating as possible. We are delighted to be working in partnership with MMU, who are supporting us in making the learning academy right for us as a Co-operative and as an ABS licence holder."