First reflections: our apprentices

Our new apprenticeship scheme, which we launched earlier this year, aims to give early learners the opportunity to start their career within the legal industry. Since they joined Minster Law at the end of September, apprentices Callum Harvey, Elleina Morgan, Chloe Hilton and Katy Whitfield, have been working alongside some of our most experienced customer service experts who have been helping them get to grips with life in the personal injury industry.

Joining a large company like Minster Law may seem like a daunting prospect for our young apprentices, so we sat down with them to see how their first two months have gone…

Q. How were you feeling about joining the Legal Apprentice programme?

Callum: “I felt really nervous at first as this is my first job – I finished Sixth Form and completed my A-Levels during the summer. The Welcome Day really helped to settle my nerves and made me feel more at home and a part of the business. After my first week of settling in and meeting different people from around the business, I was really excited to start my apprenticeship and feel really privileged to be a part of the programme.”

Elleina: “When I applied for the apprenticeship, I was nervous at first because I had never studied law before. However, I have always wanted to study law and felt like this opportunity with Minster Law was one I did not want to let slide. I was nervous about applying for the apprenticeship role as I didn’t think I would get it, but I was delighted when I was offered the place and was very excited to start.”

Chloe: “I hadn’t worked in a professional environment before I joined Minster Law so I was unsure of what to expect. However, I have studied law in an academic capacity and knew that it would lead to great opportunities in the future. The chance to gain two qualifications while getting lots of experience in the sector is a great opportunity that I am very grateful for.”

Katy: “I was both excited and nervous to start the programme, just as anyone would be about starting a new job! I was looking forward to learning something completely new which I haven’t studied before and excited to see where it takes me in the future. I did an apprenticeship prior to this one, so I knew what to expect with the type of work involved and I’d anticipated what the work-life balance would be like, so this isn’t something I was worried about.”

Q. What have you been doing in your first months?

Callum: “During my first week, I met lots of different people from around the business who explained their roles and gave us an overview of the roles we would have during our time on the apprenticeship programme. We were also introduced to our mentors, who are all very friendly and approachable, which made me feel comfortable and assured me that help is available if I need it.”

“We attended our first week of training in the First Response Unit (FRU), which I thoroughly enjoyed, and met the team we would be working with on a day-to-day basis. Now that I have completed my training, I have settled into my first role in FRU and am really enjoying it so far!”

Elleina: “During my first month at Minster Law, I have spent time at the BPP Law School, learned all about Minster Law and taken part in various training activities. I have also had the opportunity to get to know more about the other departments and how they contribute to the wider business and met key people in each area.”

Chloe: “We started by shadowing other, more experienced legal professionals, and learning more about Minster Law as a business. We are now working in FRU, which is really interesting as we get to follow claims from the beginning until the end and find out how important each part of the process is.”

Katy: “During my first month at Minster Law I was involved in the ‘induction week at BPP Law School’ where I learnt about the studies I will be doing during the apprenticeship. I spent time getting to know the business and the different teams which I’ll be working in over the two years of my apprenticeship which include; FRU, Charger, Private Client, Multi track admin, MOJ claims assistant and Voyage.

“I was in the FRU team during the first month of my apprenticeship, carrying out a very customer facing role. I was involved in a three week training programme to get me ready and my main role in the team was taking all of the information needed from the client in order to send the Claim Notification Form.”

Q. Have you spent any time with the trainee solicitors?

Callum: “During our first week, we spent some time with the trainee solicitors and were introduced to our mentors who are extremely supportive and approachable – I have even spent time with my mentor outside of working hours. We also have a Christmas meal organised in early December, which I am very excited for as it will be very nice to see them outside of work and catch up with them again!”

Elleina: “I have spent some time with the trainee solicitors and have catch-up sessions with my mentor. Having a trainee solicitor as a mentor is very helpful for me because I know that if I’m unsure about something, she will always be there to help.”

Chloe: “Having regular meetings with my mentor have been really helpful as I’ve been able to discuss balancing work and home life and any challenges I may be facing.”

Katy: “We had lunch together to get to know each other in the first week, and were involved in a social media session together. Our team Christmas dinner will be chance to get to know each other more. I’ve also had an individual meeting with my mentor, who is a trainee solicitor, where we chatted about my first month and how I’m getting along.”

Q. Now that you are in position what are you most looking forward to?

Callum: “I am mostly looking forward to gaining experience and developing my knowledge of Minster Law and the systems we use. I am also looking forward to being able to develop my skills further with FRU as I believe these will benefit me in my next roles.”

Elleina: “I am most looking forward to gaining more experience in the FRU team as this will enable me to become more knowledgeable. As well as this, I am looking forward to getting more experience across multiple departments of the business.”

Chloe: “I am looking forward to rotation because I will gain an insight into different parts of the business, which will hopefully lead to more opportunities in the future.”

Katy: “I am looking forward to extending my knowledge both academically and in the workplace. I am also looking forward to meeting more new people as I circulate though the business in the different roles I will be carrying out.”

To learn more about our legal apprenticeship scheme and to see our other career opportunities, please click here.