Pinsent Masons has joined a campaign asking companies to commit to having at least 5% of their workforce on a formalised apprentice scheme, sponsored student or graduate programme.

As the first law firm to sign up to The 5% Club, Pinsents is required to publicly report on whether it meets the target, and encourage other businesses and peers to join the campaign.

The 5% Club, which was launched at the beginning of October, seeks to address the current UK youth unemployment rate of 20% and the 60% of firms which – according to the campaign – struggle to recruit people with the necessary advanced technical skills.

Other companies and firms to have signed up include FTSE 100 constituent Babcock International, the UK arm of aerospace company EADS, opticians Vision Express and founding member and defence and security group Qinetiq.

A campaign spokesman said no other law firms are currently in discussions to join.

Given Pinsents already has a pool of more than 160 trainees at any one time, it would appear the firm is well-placed to achieve the target, even against a global headcount of 2500.

Pinsents' director of HR and learning Jonathan Bond acknowledged the firm already exceeds the target, but wanted to formalise the commitment publicly by joining the campaign.

"We have always had a commitment to recruiting and retaining the best talent in the market, from a variety of backgrounds, in order to develop the future leaders of the profession and respond to the current and anticipated needs of our clients," said Bond.

"By joining we wanted to…reinforce the importance we attach to giving young people a chance to develop fulfilling careers in legal and non-legal roles."

"Pinsent Masons joining The 5% Club shows the inclusive nature of this campaign and emphasises the need to address this issue across a range of industries," commented Leo Quinn, founding member of the campaign and CEO of QinetiQ.