Employability: the Work Friday pilot

1. Employability:the Work Friday pilot Dr Jon Howden-Evans Deputy Head, Department of Professional Legal Studies j.p.howden-evans@swansea.ac.uk

2. Overview • The problem facing our students • Traditional placements and the changing market for our graduates • The idea • The objectives, process and outcomes • Lessons we learnt • The future

3. The problem • The Product was working fairly well – Legal Practice Course (LPC) is a postgraduate diploma, authorised/monitored by a rigorous process, delivered by practitioners • The Market was changing – graduates without training contracts… • The Solution? – a work in progress (Review 2020) we needed something asap…

4. General view of placements? • As a busy solicitor – a real pain! • students have limited knowledge (and leave a bad impression?) • students might not have the requisite skills • typically placements occur in school holiday periods, when partners are away (so I’m already busy…) • Firms like to have someone they know will be “ok” so look for previous work experience on the CV…

5. The changing market… • The LPC an intensive course – difficult to find a mutually convenient time for the placement • Recession – redundancies in the office do not make for a harmonious placement experience • Technology – less need for “junior” support, so some of the traditional placement tasks have declined… The result = significantly less opportunities

6. The idea • To create a “day” for a meaningful placement (on a very limited budget) to ensure our students not only got “work experience”, but developed their abilities and gained a competitive edge • In doing so, develop inroads into firms that would not ordinarily look at our students, due to the use of strict criteria used as part of recruitment “portals”

7. The objectives • To provide our students with the opportunity to use their knowledge and skills in an organisation that matches their career aspirations • To provide organisations with quality work placement students • To structure the placement so that both parties actively benefit Result = 1 day per week placement for 14 weeks

8. The process • We find the organisation and agree to advertise the placement(s) • We appoint a point of contact within the Department to liaise with the organisation and handle student queries • A short time period is allowed for application by CV and cover letter

9. The process • The organisation selects (paper exercise or interview) with references from the Department • Once appointed, the organisation sorts out all administration (e.g. professional requirements such as confidentiality) • Organisation and student agree to the hours of work for the 14 weeks (and any continuation thereafter and the terms…)

10. The outcomes • Students were of real value to the organisation, undertaking useful work in areas that (for the majority) matched their career aspirations • As a weekly placement, the organisation could plan the tasks, enabling the student to see the matter progress • At quiet times in the study (Easter vacation) and post LPC, some students did more work • Has led to some paid work, full time contract, training contract

11. Lessons for us? • Easier to break into smaller firms (less internal regulation, no guaranteed places with other LPC providers), although this has started to prove less of a problem • Getting organisations to sign up is very time consuming – with firms, fee earning has priority… • Even where a student was not successful in obtaining the placement, they still benefitted

12. The future • Need to formalise the capture of knowledge & skills acquired (cannot make this assessed – for now…) • Need to find a less time consuming way of opening up the placements - already trying the greater involvement of the student in signing up the organisation • The profession is changing: ABS’s, social mobility – presents new opportunities

13. Employability:the Work Friday pilot Dr Jon Howden-Evans Deputy Head, Department of Professional Legal Studies j.p.howden-evans@swansea.ac.uk