Schofield Sweeney - Public Services and Law
As part of the Public Sector and Law, Legal Services career pathway, Schofield Sweeney works closely with the Careers Technical Education team and are a board member of Public Services & Law.
Schofield Sweeney employs over 160 people cross Leeds, Huddersfield and Bradford offices, with approximately 58 people being employed in Bradford. The organisation is very keen to link social mobility with recruitment and as partner Simon Glazebrook has revealed they were
‘Looking for the right candidate, not necessarily the ‘best’ candidate’
Schofield Sweeney working on the Public Services & Law board helped influence curriculum of Law at New College Bradford with the key skills required by the employer. This involved ensuring young people were aware of local firms recruiting apprenticeships and ensuring that teachers are aware of the key skills required to be successful as an Apprentice.
Working with Schofield Sweeney, the Careers and Technical Education team organised insight days for young people from New College Bradford to learn more about the application/recruitment process and a visit to their offices in Bradford provided young people with insight of various careers available in the legal sector.
Working with CTE team we created meaningful digital badges endorsed by the employers to provide meaning for non-accredited learning.
Paige Hunt is a New College student who successfully gained a Level 7 Solicitor Apprenticeship with Schofield Sweeney. Having studied Law, Criminology and Sociology ‘A’ levels at New College Bradford, these subjects proved instrumental in her wanting to pursue a legal career. In addition to this, Paige completed the Spruce Law Programme where she earned a vital Digital Badge - the course had lots of legally inclined young people as well as an inspirational teacher who acted as the ideal role model. With success at interview, Simon mentioned that "It was a big ask to commit to a 6 year programme so we chose to also assess the candidates during a work placement". This one week work placement really tested Paige’s analytical skills but more significantly as Neil Towse (HR Manager) highlighted "Paige stood out due to her enthusiasm and interest, dedication and commitment, shared values and collaboration. We appear to have found someone with the right skills set".
This work placement provided a necessary insight to the varied nature of legal work that persuaded Paige she was on the right career pathway. In addition, the apprenticeship is already helping to develop key working skills with no financial debt. She said "You do not have to go to university; try to speak to a careers adviser to gain a better understanding and explore your options".
If you would like information on the digital badges mentioned here, go to SPRUCE Law Programme — Navigatr or Schofield Sweeney - Commercial Law Firm Site Visit — Navigatr