1 in 65 chance of getting a training contract ?
Prospective lawyers are a determined bunch, no doubt about it, and the prospects generally for graduates at the moment have never been more difficult in living memory, but trainees should be aware of the odds.
The research indicating the harsh realities comes from the Association of Graduates. Of little comfort is the underlying figure across all sectors, which is even worse at 83 application for all types of graduate training doe each position.
Roll On Friday drilled down into the figures further and surprisingly found that at some of the biggest forms, where competition is fiercest, the prospects are slightly better as there are so many more training contracts. Apparently, Slaughter and May receives around 2,000 applications for 90 training contracts, which results in a 1 in 22 chance, much better than the overall rate.
On the more positive side, with a slight pick up recently in prospects for the bigger firms (although smaller firms are finding it even harder and that’s without the coming big bang in legal services), it is predicted that there may be around 15% more training contracts available in the biggest firms in the coming couple of years.
Good luck !