Legal Cheek Careers sits down with Ceri Evans, programme director for apprenticeships at ULaw, to discuss the confidence and skills needed to become a solicitor apprentice
Sitting down with Ceri Evans, programme director for apprenticeships at The University of Law, it quickly becomes clear that she is a passionate champion of widening the routes into the legal profession. “For some people, the apprenticeship path gives them wings,” she says. “I’m an advocate of lots of different routes to qualification so that we can bring diversity into the profession.”
For those unfamiliar with how the solicitor apprenticeship works, Evans explains that it sits alongside the more traditional degree route into the profession. Under the current system, aspiring solicitors qualify through the centralised Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) assessments. On the apprenticeship path, however, students combine academic study and professional work from day one.
Evans is equally keen to stress that the route isn’t for everyone, and that choosing the right path is a deeply personal decision. When I ask whether she would have chosen the apprenticeship route herself, had it been available when she was 18, her answer is immediate. “No, I wouldn’t have done it,” she says. “I wasn’t really mature enough at 18 to complete a law apprenticeship. I needed to grow up a little bit. I found everything quite exciting but also quite intimidating.” Stepping straight into a law firm at that age, she adds, demands quite a lot of confidence, something she did not feel she had at the time. Some candidates, however, will absolutely thrive in this environment and for them, Evans could not be a stronger advocate of this pathway.
“You start at a law firm and you’d work four days a week at the law firm and then one day a week you’d be released to us (still paid) so that we can train you towards a law degree, whilst also supporting the development of vocational skills. SQE1 and SQE2 form part of the end point assessment for the apprenticeship,” she explains. In terms of time, it is not dramatically different from the conventional path “It takes about the same amount of time, about five and a half years, whereas the traditional route takes about five years.” The major difference, of course, is that apprentices are building practical experience throughout.
For Evans, that consistent experience throughout the apprenticeship is what makes the route so appealing. “If you are 17 or 18 and you are absolutely certain that you want to be a solicitor, then the apprenticeship is almost a ‘no-brainer’,” she says. “It’s the golden ticket because after five and a half years, the amount of experience you will have established is something no alternative route could ever compete with.”
This, she suggests, can leave apprentices in an enviable position by the time they qualify. “We see apprentices who are very close to becoming an associate by the time they are newly qualified, and they get fast-tracked into partnership.”
Still, Evans is careful not to oversell the route as a one-size-fits-all solution for everyone. The deciding factor, she says, has little to do with a candidate’s ability and or the institution’s prestige but rather personality. For parents who may be hesitant about the apprenticeship model, her message is reassuring but measured. The degree element still comes from “a prestigious university”, she notes, so worries about status should take a back seat to a more important question: is the young person actually suited to this style of learning and working?
According to Evans, the students who thrive are those who have a realistic understanding of legal work. “The apprentices that thrive are the ones that know what being a solicitor or a legal worker means,” she says. “The worst thing you could do at 18 is to go into an office environment and find it boring. A lot of law is boring, and it’s not all like what you see on TV.”
The one thing that matters most, however, is confidence. And understandably, a freshly minted school leaver may still have a lot to learn on that front. “You need that eagerness and the confidence to speak to all the team members,” she explains. “If you feel that you lack confidence when you’re speaking to strangers, you might find this environment quite intimidating and your well-being might suffer.” While that confidence can be developed over time, she admits that starting the programme without “any element of confidence” makes it “a difficult ask”.
Support, then, is crucial. Evans points to the structure in place both at firms and at ULaw. Within firms, apprentices usually have access to HR or early talent teams, who help with onboarding and wellbeing. At university level, the usual student support systems are there too, from wellbeing services to disability support and study skills assistance.
One feature of the apprenticeship model she emphasises in particular is the skills coach. “Every apprentice when they start with us will be given a skills coach,” Evans says. “The apprenticeship is a tripartite agreement between the firm, the university, and the apprentice.” The skills coach stays with the apprentice throughout the programme, checking in regularly with both the apprentice and their supervisor to assess progress and flag any concerns around workload, balance or organisation. In practice, says Evans, the coach “effectively becomes the advocate for the apprentice to make sure the workload is doable and to support their progression towards becoming a Day 1 solicitor.”
That long-term workplace immersion appears to shape apprentices in significant ways. Early on, the work is “very process-driven” as they build the basics, but by year three, Evans says, they are already “working at a high level”. Beyond learning legal content, apprentices are also building relationships and workplace habits that will pay off later. “We have had a 100% success rate in apprentices being retained by their firm post-qualification,” she notes.
The wider growth of the route has been striking too. “I started in 2016 with three apprentices and we’ve now got over 1,500 apprentices,” says Evans. “Between 2022 and 2025, we grew by 309%.” In the early days, she recalls, firms were sometimes unsure what to do with apprentices. But that uncertainty has faded as employers have seen the benefits apprentices can bring. “Firms wouldn’t continue with this if it wasn’t commercially beneficial,” she says.
So when will the route become truly mainstream? “Definitely within the next decade,” confirms Evans without hesitation, adding: “I would argue that over the next five years, it will be a mainstream route.” She also points to exam success as part of the story, noting that “the SRA data shows that apprentices pass SQE1 and SQE2 at a higher rate than commercially funded or sponsored students”.
That success, she suggests, is largely down to constant exposure to practice and the habits apprentices develop along the way. She estimates that “80%” comes from being in firms and continually building their skills, with the remaining “20%” down to time management, organisation and the ability to adapt study techniques.
As our discussion draws to a close, I ask what sixth formers and college students should be doing now if they want to secure one of these coveted places. Evans is quick to stress just how competitive applications can be: “It’s extremely competitive; I’ve heard of 1,500 applications for just two places.”
“First, you need to know you definitely want to be a solicitor and it’s not just an easy way to get a degree.” From there, she recommends seeking out online experiential opportunities, researching what different areas of law actually involve, and thinking seriously about culture fit. “Look for a firm culture that fits your way of life,” she says. She also suggest checking firm websites, using LinkedIn to find vacancies, and even writing directly to firms that do not yet offer apprenticeships. For anyone wanting a more grounded sense of legal practice, there is also a simple suggestion: “You can also pop along to your local magistrate’s court to see the law in action and see how people work with their clients.”
For the right teenager, then, the solicitor apprenticeship may well be, as Evans puts it, “the golden ticket”.
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