In December last year, I had the privilege of hosting three outstanding 18-year-old school leavers for work experience at the Chelmsford Crown Court. I first met these young men a few weeks earlier while watching them participate in a mock trial at the Old Bailey—an event organised by LTSB.

LTSB is a social mobility charity that prepares and supports bright young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into meaningful roles within major firms.

It is a truly brilliant organisation dedicated to supporting communities where “potential often struggles to find opportunity”.

Anyone who knows me is aware that I never attend court alone. There is always a succession of eager students by my side absorbing everything they can. Having seen these young men in action at the mock trial, it took me no time at all to decide that I needed to create opportunities for them.

They arrived on day one brimming with excitement and ambition. We spoke extensively about their career goals: all of them aspiring to secure Solicitor Apprenticeships. Not one had even considered the Bar, let alone seen it as a realistic option. How depressing.

All three had attended state schools in London. One of them, running late on the second morning, arrived at 10:15 AM, visibly apologetic. He had worked an early shift before coming in. I was embarrassed that he felt embarrassed. But at the same time, I was so utterly impressed with his commitment. Over the following eight days, I got to know them all better. They were sharp, resilient, and full of good judgment. They were laser-focused on their goals. Exactly what the Bar needs.

Before this experience, I had been embarrassingly ignorant about solicitor apprenticeships. Typically taking around 6 years to complete, this process is available to those who have completed their A-Levels and secured an apprenticeship within a law firm. Three-four days a week would be spent at the firm learning all the important practical skills, whilst the remaining time would be utilised to develop their legal education. Learning content from both the LLB and SQE is mandatory, and the firm would work with a law school to manage the educational part of the apprenticeship. The clincher: the whole process is funded whilst learning takes place.

Availability of these apprenticeships has increased in recent years and I can certainly see their appeal. In contrast, the traditional route to the Bar would invariably include tuition fee loans of almost £30,000 at undergraduate level; then an eye watering £12,000–£20,000 price tag for the Bar Practice Course (BPC), with absolutely no guarantee of pupillage at the end.

Of course, any student who spends time in court with me gets the hard sell on why becoming a barrister is worth it. But I had to check myself before trying to steer them away from the relative security of the Solicitor Apprenticeship route.

When I secured pupillage in 2002, my award was the princely sum of £10,000. I was a single mother with a two-year-old at the time with debts up to my eyeballs. Having had a disastrous scholarship interview at my Inn, scraping together what support I could from my family was my only lifeline to ensure that I could even accept that pupillage offer.

So, in 2024 how could I, in good conscience, tell these bright young men that finding £20,000 for the BPC—with no guarantee of a future at the Bar—was a good idea? Yes, funding opportunities and bursaries exist, but they are limited. The positive news is that the Bar is finally catching up by introducing a comparable program. The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has now approved the Barrister Apprenticeship route.

After years of deliberation, a task force comprising representatives from Chambers and the employed Bar—aptly named the Barrister Apprentice Trailblazer Group (TBG)—have spearheaded the development of Barrister Apprenticeships. This has been in collaboration with the government-funded Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE). Naturally, Bar training course providers, the BSB, and the Council of the Inns of Court have also played a role. In December 2024, IfATE published the Barrister Apprenticeship Standard, ensuring that these apprenticeships meet the highest standards. Regardless of the route taken to the Bar, plainly training quality must not diminish. The professional standard clearly outlines the knowledge, skills, and attributes expected of all barristers from day one of practice.

Much remains to be finalised, but at some point, TBG will need to address the steps required to move toward implementation. The structure of the training will ultimately be the responsibility of prospective providers, whilst the BSB will oversee assessment strategy and curriculum. It will be up to individual providers, however, to seek BSB authorisation to deliver the apprenticeship, which is likely to run for a duration of six years.

The question is: who will step up? How willing will individual Chambers be to get involved? As a collective of self-employed individuals, some Chambers may have little appetite for moving away from the traditional pupillage model—one where they can part ways with pupils who haven’t quite made the grade after 12 months. And unlike my own pupillage, long gone are the days when Chambers was filled with members ready to offer a sympathetic ear after a bruising hearing, or to act as a sounding board for a particular legal issue.

Some colleagues also share concerns about Chambers making long-term financial commitments to 18-year-olds—especially when these individuals have yet to so much as thumb through The White Book or Blackstones. Meanwhile, our solicitor counterparts are successfully investing in young talent by doing just that. And the reality is, that each of us who has visited a school or judged a mock trial has already met that promising 18-year-old: the one who stood out with their confidence; the one who’s sharp questioning was refreshingly accurate; and the one whose submissions to the pretend jury were bold and focused. The young men who shadowed me illustrated that we needn’t worry about being able to identify the stellar candidates at such a young age.

It will be both exciting and interesting to see how these apprenticeships take shape and in what innovative ways they can be delivered. I truly believe that this new route has the potential to  be a game changer. It is designed to offer a more affordable, flexible avenue to the Bar. Consequently, it can open doors to exceptional candidates from backgrounds that once saw the Bar as completely unreachable, and I am here for it.

Nneka Akudolu KC, ​2 Hare Court