After failing to win a training contract, Shazia Aslam opted to sign up for the SRA's work-based learning pilot. Post-programme, she describes how it went

The final six months of qualifying as a solicitor on the new work-based learning experiment by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) was one of the most challenging aspects of my legal education. It marked the last stage of a two-year period of externally assessed study and work and was a pivotal moment in my career.

I was among 40 individuals who agreed to take part in an experiment by the SRA to improve the vocational training stage of solicitor's qualification. Over two years, I amassed a portfolio of work to demonstrate work-based learning that covered a total of 32 topic areas, from professional ethics to time and file management.

Each of the 32 outcomes had to reach a level three grade to ensure an overall pass. As I completed the final stages of the assessment and submitted my portfolio for independent inspection, I constantly questioned whether I had done enough to fully meet all the requirements. Fortunately, I was successful and am now practising as a solicitor with Scott Rees & Co Solicitors, specialising in fast-track personal injury litigation. Almost three years ago, however, I was among hundreds of law graduates fresh out of university desperately hoping for a training contract.

After studying law and the Legal Practice Course (LPC) at Huddersfield University, I returned to my home city of Manchester where I became a paralegal with a local firm of solicitors. It soon became clear that the firm could not offer me a training contract for another two years despite being happy with my work. Eager to qualify as a solicitor as soon as possible, I was browsing the SRA's website just as it was appealing for volunteers to take part in a work-based learning pilot to "develop and approve new learning and assessment strategies for trainee solicitors".

The objective of the pilot was to develop, test and evaluate work-based learning within the context of training contracts but also, in a radical new step, extend the opportunity to paralegals if they could demonstrate that their work was commensurate with that undertaken in a training contract.

I embraced the opportunity and in September 2008 began the work-based learning pilot as a paralegal after being accepted to the experiment. Only a few months later I moved to my current employer, Scott Rees. The pilot had the same requirements as current training contract arrangements in terms of timescales and the necessity to gain experience in three distinct areas of law as well as developing skills in contentious and non-contentious work, but it also included eight areas of assessment.

My three areas of law were personal injury, conveyancing and litigation. The eight areas of assessment included application of legal expertise, communication, client relations, business awareness, workload management, working with others, self-awareness and development and professional conduct. Within these eight areas, there were a series of sub-outcomes which comprised the 32 outcomes.

To demonstrate workload management, I was required to provide evidence of how I organised my day in terms of meeting deadlines, prioritising tasks and overcoming challenges. My portfolio, which paradoxically feels quite academic, had to include evidence such as notes, draft documents, letters and reflection sheets. In another area of assessment, I had to document my performance in terms of professional conduct. Given that we communicate with clients predominantly over the phone without the benefit of face-to-face meetings, it focused my mind on the need to converse clearly, explaining scenarios and processes while remaining professional.

To demonstrate business awareness, I had to show that I understood the costs and benefits of my actions. It was necessary to provide documentary evidence that showed I appreciated the internal and external business context of my work; for example, the need to ensure client satisfaction at all times as well as the need to achieve the best settlement outcome and best costs outcome.

As I compiled my portfolio, supervision throughout the pilot scheme was twofold. First, there was in-house supervision from a Scott Rees training partner who reviewed my overall scheme of work to ensure that it was realistic and on target. Second, I was also supervised by an external assessor at Nottingham Law School.

Typically throughout the pilot, I would send my portfolio by post to the tutor in Nottingham every two to three months, who would provide feedback and suggestions to ensure it met a level three grading. I met with my tutor in person approximately four or five times over the two years and also liaised with my tutor at Scott Rees to share feedback and comments.

Combining the requirements of the portfolio with the requirements of my workload as a paralegal required discipline and planning, but it was a useful exercise in time management. By the end of the two years, it had grown to two lever arch files of work.

Throughout the process, the very fact that I was taking part in a pilot project brought with it some unique challenges. As work-based learning was new to everyone, there were moments when advice and information about how to perform tasks needed greater clarification and direction. It was also difficult to seek counsel from fellow colleagues as they could only compare their experiences under the current training contract arrangements. But clearly one of the benefits of producing an externally-assessed portfolio of work was that it focused the mind. It was an effective tool in recording what I had achieved and gave me greater confidence in my abilities, making me aware of the qualities needed to become a successful and competent lawyer.

I am extremely grateful to have been given the opportunity to qualify as a solicitor through the pilot. For paralegals who have worked hard to achieve a law degree and complete the LPC but have yet to secure a training contract, it offers a vital lifeline to a rewarding legal career.

Importantly for the industry, work-based learning also recognises that there is a greater diversity of employment within the legal profession than ever before.

There is no doubt that there are still areas of work-based learning that need to be addressed and ironed out before the programme is rolled out fully, but its aim to bring greater parity of opportunity as well as quality, consistency and reliability has to be applauded.

Shazia Aslam is a trainee at Scott Rees & Co Solicitors and took part in the SRA's work-based learning pilot.