Higgs LLP has welcomed 30 Year 12 students from across the Black Country for its largest work experience programme to date, giving young people a valuable insight into careers in law and professional services.
The two-day programme comes at a time when government research has identified that a lack of work experience is the single biggest barrier preventing young people from finding employment. The research found that those that would benefit most from early exposure to the workplace are often the least likely to receive it.
The two-day programme at Higgs is designed to broaden students' understanding of the opportunities and pathways into law that are available within the firm, and the sector more widely.
The sessions featured talks led by colleagues from the Higgs LLP Family Law, Private Client, Corporate, Real Estate, Personal Injury, Clinical Negligence, Legal Services and IT.
One of the unique aspects of working at a firm like Higgs LLP is that students also learned about different qualification routes into the profession, including solicitor apprenticeships and finance careers, and had the opportunity to meet with current Trainees and Solicitor Apprentices.
By meeting people from across Higgs, students explored a variety of career paths, developed their employability skills and gained practical advice on building their careers in the future. For many, it was their first experience inside an office environment, which also offered a valuable opportunity to develop workplace skills and gain a better understanding of the wide range of careers available.
We know that meaningful experiences can have a lasting impact on a young person's confidence and career aspirations when they are still in education.
I wanted to give students a genuine insight into life at Higgs and show them the vast range of opportunities available to them whether that's as a solicitor, through an apprenticeship scheme, or in one of the many professional services roles that support our firm to thrive.
We're proud to support young people in our local communities and help open doors to future opportunities. The students were wonderfully enthusiastic and ambitious and for me personally it was extremely rewarding.
Hardeep Kharbanda-Camp
Resource and Inclusion Advisor
