First year trainee roadshows are back

Olivia Moore, Careers & Wellbeing Manager, explains why we run roadshows for new first year trainees and why you should sign up (or encourage your trainees to sign up!) and come along.

We’re now into the sixth year of running roadshows specifically for new, first year trainees and are about to set off round the country again for the busy autumn intake. This year we are back to running free, in-person events in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow during October. **Please note we have now added a virtual event to the schedule in addition, listed below.**

Starting a traineeship is a challenging time. It usually involves a combination of new things: getting to grips with a lot of regulation, different ways of working, perhaps a different location and lots of colleagues and clients.

This event is designed to arm you with some key information which will help you feel more prepared, as well as giving you a crucial opportunity to meet other trainees in your local area. We’ll have time for drinks and networking, as well as a panel session Q&A with members of the Law Society team that assists new lawyers, plus your local Law Society Council Member and SYLA representative. The panel will share tips and advice for succeeding in your traineeship, and insights from the profession.

What on earth is a PQPR?

There’s a lot of jargon associated with the traineeship: PEAT2 record, PQPR, supervising solicitor, TCPD… do you know what it all means? We’ll be on hand to explain the mandatory elements of your training, as well as understanding what’s good practice or just sound advice! As a trainee, the emphasis is on you to assure you’re compliant with our requirements rather than your supervising solicitor, so make sure you’re confident with what you need to do.

I don’t know anything!

‘When I’ve been asked to do big tasks for two different partners, how do I get everything done and prioritise correctly?’ ‘When does NQ recruitment usually happen?’ ‘How can I prove I can do more interesting work?’ These are just a few types of questions new trainees want to know the answers to but don’t know how to ask or feel like they don’t yet have the platform to ask. There are no stupid questions at the trainee roadshow and if you’re asking something, the likelihood is that half of the audience wants to know the answer too. We invite two external speakers to each roadshow to help us answer (hopefully!) anything. Firstly, we invite someone along who’s just finished their traineeship and can offer advice on how they navigated the process and experienced it from the inside. Secondly, we invite an experienced solicitor who has lots of experience supporting trainees, who can offer advice as your impartial stand-in supervisor for the evening. 

I don’t know many other trainees

In accepting a traineeship, we know you may also be moving to a brand-new location and embarking on a new life. At the very least, it’s a real step-change from university. Meeting other trainees in your area will really help you settle in and build up a support network. Our events are designed to be really laid back and there's plenty of opportunities to have a chat with us and other attendees. It’s good to have people to bounce worries, stories and ideas off and usually, you’ll find everyone’s in the same boat and has similar experiences!

Sign up for your local roadshow!

• Glasgow – Tuesday 18 October 
• Edinburgh – Thursday 20 October
• Dundee - Tuesday 25 October (unfortunately cancelled due to low numbers)
• Aberdeen - Thursday 27 October (unfortunately cancelled due to low numbers)
• Virtual event for all - Tuesday 22 November at lunchtime