STUDENTS considering an alternative to university could take advantage of a new legal apprenticeship scheme.

Law firm Stephensons Solicitors is offering a range of legal apprenticeships.

The firm, which has offices in Silverwell Street, Bolton, and Middlebrook, has taken on two young recruits, but also has created a number of apprenticeships in other departments.

Stephensons has 36 partners and more than 400 staff, with offices also in Manchester, Wigan, Altrincham, Leigh, St Helens and London Apprenticeships allow students to gain a relevant qualification while earning a wage.

As well as working, apprentices are given a day release to study towards their qualification.

Stephensons has already recruited one legal apprentice, as well as a PR apprentice, but still has several apprenticeships on offer for A-level students who are interested in a career in law.

The firm has teamed up with other law firms in the region to offer 80 legal apprenticeships between them. The scheme is part of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce’s Employer Ownership of Skills initiative, which has secured £8.5 million-worth of funding to tackle the skills gap across a number of sectors.

Rachel Ord, aged 18, from Westhoughton, has just joined Stephensons’ clinical negligence department in Wigan as its first paralegal apprentice.

A former Canon Slade School pupil, her tasks include assessing schedules or bills received from draftsmen, updating the limitation diary to check where cases are up to and chasing up payments.

She said: “I chose to do a legal apprenticeship over a degree as I felt being in a working environment would better prepare me for a career in law than being at university.

“It’s increasingly difficult to gain valuable experience in a law firm that can set graduates apart from one another, as degrees are becoming so common.

“Stephensons has a social conscience and an involvement with the communities the firm operates in, which really appealed to me. I felt that this set them apart from other firms.”

The firm recently recruited its first-ever apprentice, Chloe Kendall, from Warrington.

The 18-year-old has joined the Stephensons’ marketing team in Leigh as a PR apprentice.

She is among the country’s first PR apprentices to follow the Level 4 qualification in public relations, which is equivalent to the first year of a degree.

Her role involves monitoring the firm’s press coverage, which includes the media in Bolton and Greater Manchester, compiling monthly reports, press releases and online work.

She said the mix of working while also studying one day a week towards a professional qualification appealed to her — along with the variety of work.

The firm also has created other apprentice vacancies in its probate, dispute resolution and clinical negligence departments.

Janine Turner, human resources manager for Stephensons, said: “We’ve been looking into offering apprenticeships for a while and we’re delighted to be part of the new legal apprenticeship scheme.

“Apprenticeships offer a credible alternative to university for people who want to follow a fulfilling and rewarding pathway into a career in law.”