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updated on 15 July 2011
As reported by Alex Aldridge in the Guardian and Neil Rose in Legal Futures, Yorkshire law firm Gordons has launched a legal apprenticeship that will allow school leavers to become qualified lawyers without first having to do a degree. Starting from this September, five apprentices will complete a four-year programme (which will run alongside the firm's graduate trainee scheme), receiving an annual salary of £9,620 for the duration and qualifying as legal executives.
Gordons managing partner Paul Ayre said: "The programme highlights that social mobility in Britain today is reduced from that of 20 years ago. The legal profession has many barriers to entry which can work against people who would otherwise have the ability to forge successful careers in the law. One of the barriers is the need to be university educated. For a variety of reasons, not all bright and ambitious 17- and 18-year-olds are able to go on to further education. Our idea is to create opportunities for some of these."