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Training contract deferrals force Generation Y to learn patience

It is important to note that for those students who are providing all of their own financial support, conducting the LPC (and the GDL) particularly in London is an expensive business, and living costs are often not met by the maintenance grants provided by the future employer. The students then take out graduate loans on the basis of commencing work immediately after the LPC- and not meeting repayments could be very detrimental to future trainees- bankruptcy obviously ruins their cances of ever practising as a solicitor. Obviously people will retort "get a job" but with the incentives to defer seeming to require the outlay of money by doing community programmes/travel or languages where does this leave the more unfortunate poorer future trainees who will have if offered £5,000 the grant sum of approx £420 per month to live on with repayments of up to £250 per month on loans- £250 a month doesn't go very far. It is a different world in the recruitment market right now and current graduate are facing uncertain prospects, but have a more realistic idea as to job prospects and are less likely to incur debt in the current climate. For those people recruited 2 years before their training contract is to commence, who have incurred debt in honour of their side of the bargain, law firms ought to cough up. All the current offers do is illustrate once more that the city legal profession is much more accessible by those students with money behind them.

7-Apr-2009

1:58 pm