50-strong City law firm collaboration announces strategic partnerships with UCAS, Not Going to Uni, and Young Professionals

City Century, the law firm collaboration aiming to significantly increase the number of solicitor apprentices entering the City of London each year, has today welcomed UCAS, Not Going to Uni (NGTU), and Young Professionals as official project partners.

Recognising that City law might be unfamiliar or even unknown to many young students, City Century has teamed up with these three leading organisations to boost the visibility of solicitor apprenticeships and widen access to the commercial legal profession. The move is expected to generate thousands of quality applications to the solicitor apprenticeship route.

Sander Kristel, Interim CEO at UCAS, said:

“We’re delighted to be partnering with City Century on this initiative which will enable a significant number of talented and committed solicitor apprentices into the City of London. The partnership supports UCAS’ efforts in enabling students to discover and decide their options and bolsters our widening participation ambitions by giving the opportunity to students of all backgrounds to enter the Law sector, including those who may not have otherwise explored law as a pathway.”

Collaborating not only with the household name, UCAS, but also NGTU – with its expertise in providing alternative education and career guidance – and Young Professionals – a renowned body in the field of apprenticeships – will enable City Century to identify, attract, recruit, educate, and qualify greater numbers of talented and committed solicitor apprentices.

Conor Cotton, Managing Director at Not Going To Uni, said:

"From the moment I first heard about City Century, I knew we wanted to support in promoting the opportunities to our audience in London and the surrounding areas. As an organisation, Not Going To Uni believes in giving young people every possible pathway available to them, and the work City Century is delivering aligns with our mission. With our vast network of other 65,000 users through our platform every month and on social media we will be driving awareness and applications for the 50+ law firms involved.”

Dan Miller, Founder and CEO of Young Professionals, added:

“Young Professionals is delighted to be collaborating with City Century to raise awareness among aspiring solicitor apprentices of over 100 roles within over 50 City of London law firms. It is brilliant to see the legal sector widen access to the commercial legal profession and we at Young Professionals are extremely excited to connect our talented candidates at our online and in-person events. This is historic. It will change not only the legal professions but the lives of many who would not have had these chances without City Century.”

City Century, which launched on Social Mobility Day earlier this year to sector-wide acclaim and cross-party political support, envisages that by 2040 at least 100 new Partners will have been created by the solicitor apprentice route. Led by the City of London Law Society, City Century is unique in its cross-firm collaborative spirit, with its 50+ firms representing a vast range of prospective employers.