Law Student Applications Reach Record Numbers
Apparently no one has told them that there are aren’t enough training contracts to go round…
So, just in case no one else bothered, here are the stats they should have been given:
SolicitR Nov 2009: According to the Law Society, 7,000 people completed the Legal Practice Course in 2008, but there are only 6,000 training contracts available this year. And from 2003 and 2007 the number of students enrolling on the BVC rose from 1,332 to 1,932, while during the same period the number of pupillages steadily fell to around 500.
Which means that the latest figures from UCAS are even more horrifying.
Lawyer2B: The figures published by admissions service UCAS showed that no fewer than 83,000 applicants have applied to university or college to study law this year, an overall increase of 5.6 per cent since 2009.
Granted not all of these potential law students will want to go on to become lawyers but is it really less than 10%, doubtful. Bearing in mind there are large numbers of non-law students who apply to be lawyers, the numbers that even have a chance of a job in law are probably nearer to 5% or less.
Why law? Arguably law could be useful for other jobs (particularly in a business context) but there are far more versatile degrees out there. Business and management degrees for example make far more sense for budding entrepreneurs or future managers. They normally have a legal element and other more useful stuff besides.
A symptom of a bigger problem? The L2B notes that Incomes Data Services (IDS) has shown that there were around 44 applications for each graduate vacancy in 2009.
Too many students, too few jobs.
March 31, 2010
Like lambs to the slaughter. Bah bah bah.
March 31, 2010
What a surprise. The only people whose best interests are served by informing them about this are the poor deluded souls that will be shat out of university at the end with huge debts.
March 31, 2010
Poor students. I actually feel sorry anyone trying to do law now.