In December, the Government confirmed £40m of funding for 20,000 Higher Apprenticeships in the next two years. Jason Holt, a former solicitor and now the Government's apprenticeship ambassador for small businesses, outlines how law firms are using these Higher Apprenticeships

In an increasingly demanding market, more and more law firms are structuring their businesses so that work previously handled by lawyers alone can be done by paralegals and legal administrators. And so it was welcome news, when in 2013, a Higher Apprenticeship in Legal Services was launched, heralding an opportunity for firms to save even more time and to grow expertise by training apprentices at a higher level to meet their specific needs.

The Higher Apprenticeship is equivalent to a first year of a degree and currently covers practice areas including commercial litigation, debt recovery/insolvency and personal injury. It heads up a family of existing apprenticeships in the legal sector, which allow staff to develop in various roles and at different levels. This includes Legal Advice at Intermediate and Advanced (Levels 2 & 3) and Legal Services at Advanced Level (Level 3).