General transferable skills: project rationale

(Transcript of a section of the General transferable skills report, 1998)

Significant changes are occuring both in the market for legal services and the concept of a career in law. Law schools are producing a considerably higher number of law students than there are training contracts or pupillages, meaning that graduates of both law degrees and the vocational stage have to adapt and apply themselves to different career paths, whether in the short or long term.

Statistics for finding out what alternative careers law graduates enter are very difficult to determine. The 1997 report of the Policy Studies Institute Survey on entry into the legal profession provided findings on what happens to law students unable to obtain a training contract or pupillage), with general accountancy, financial services, banking and so on mentioned as alternatives. The nature of legal work is also becoming more diverse.

There is however a common ground between all disciplines in relation to core skills that will be useful for any discipline and for any career. The Law Discipline Network sought to articulate better the general transferable skills developed through and alongside specific legal skills, on both undergraduate degree programmes and professional training courses.

A mapping exercise found that there was an overlap between those skills required by lawyers (the DRAIN skills of drafting, research, advocacy, interviewing and advising, and negotiation) and those skills required by employers of many other non-law careers. Seven core skills were extracted and used as a framework for the survey and the following examples of individual law school activities.

The second year of the project involved an exploration of different ways in which achievement in respect of general transferable skills can be promoted and recognised in the law curriculum. Among the forms of recognition considered were records of achievement and (G)NVQs.

This report aims to identify issues for discussion in law schools. The work can be taken forward by institutions in different ways. The result of the network, we believe, is that many law schools have become aware of the interesting practice already taking place in other law schools, as well as in other subjects, which can serve as pointers to the kind of direction which is most appropriate for their situation. The networking and sharing of experience will continue to be necessary after this report.

Other institutions have already made much progress in this field. Certainly the development of progress files or portfolios will require significant investment of time and money beyond these pilot activities, but will be rewarding for the students who develop and make use of them.

Last Modified: 4 June 2010