Allen & Overy s Smart Start Experience A review of the last 7 years
Smart Start was launched in 2009 to tackle social exclusion in the legal profession. Students are invited to spend a week at Allen & Overy and gain a real insight into the world of business. We particularly look to support young people who are eligible for free school meals or are in the first generation of their family to go to university. Over 704 students have taken part in Smart Start since 2009 and in 2015 we reached more young people across a wider geographic area, with students attending from 52 schools across 28 of the UK s most deprived boroughs, including East Sussex, Portsmouth and Hull. In 2014, following a rigorous assessment, Smart Start became the first work experience scheme across the UK legal sector to be accredited by City & Guilds, which recognises the outstanding quality of the work experience. We are keen to make sure that Smart Start continues to be the leading work experience programme in the legal sector, so we have carried out this research to better understand the impact of the programme. In this report we look at the impact Smart Start has had on students from 2009 2015. We collected 105 responses in total, and students from each year of Smart Start are represented. 1
CASE STUDY: DEMI JOANNIDES Participated 2014 Smart Start taught me that I have the potential to succeed in my career goal and do not have to be the stereotypical privatelyeducated Law student. Which school did you go to? I went to Highlands School in Enfield and then attended Sixth Form at Woodhouse College in Finchley where I studied A levels English literature, history, biology, psychology and an AS in Greek. What are your future goals? I d like to work in Commercial Law which follows a natural progression. In 10 years I d like to be working at a top/magic Circle Law firm, hopefully Allen & Overy! My ultimate goal is to make Partner. What are you doing at the moment? I m currently in my first year at Warwick University, studying Law and I love it! I m using so many skills: problem solving, analytical, public speaking, legal research and team work, amongst many others! I expected it to be challenging and interesting and it has definitely lived up to those expectations. What were your early career ambitions? I remember wanting to be a teacher but I don t think that lasted for very long. I didn t really know what I wanted to do in terms of career. My mother works in transport and logistics, and my father runs a catering company. Neither of my parents went to university and didn t push me in any career direction. Then in Sixth Form, my Form Tutor, who lectured in Law, told me to look into Law, then I found Smart Start and that solidified my interest! What impact did participating in Smart Start have on you? In the short term it encouraged me to study Law at university with the goal of practising Law in the future. It s been a catalyst for work experience since then. When people see Allen & Overy on my CV it has a really big impact, for which I am very grateful. It put me in contact with people at A&O that I m still in touch with now, and the benefits continue! My end goal is to work in A&O, because I started my career here, it s my dream job. I m still in contact with my mentor from Smart Start, Rebecca Hopper, who has really helped me through every step of my journey since then. Public speaking and meeting new people was key because there were 60 of us on Smart Start so it s really prepared me for meeting people at university, as well as networking skills needed in my chosen career. 2
YEAR ON YEAR TRENDS Which of these statements best describes your current status? If you are in employment/training or education - do you think taking part in Smart Start helped you get to where you are now? 100% 100% 90% 90% 80% 80% 70% 70% 60% 60% 50% 50% 40% 40% 30% 30% 20% 20% 10% 10% 0% 0% 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Unemployed In employment In education None of the above Yes No I am unemployed 92% Across the entire 92% of individuals who came on the programme in 2009 are now in employment, with 0% unemployed. less than are unemployed 82% 6 Years Across all 6 years, 82% stated they believed Smart Start has helped them get to where they are now. The data shows an upward trend, year on year. When asked how Smart Start helped them, the following 10 words were the most commonly used: 3 SKILLS MENTOR CONFIDENCE EXPERIENCE LAW ENVIRONMENT INSIGHT STATEMENT UNDERSTAND UNIVERSITY
CASE STUDY: JEREMIAH GOGO Participated 2011 I added Smart Start to my experience on my CV which helped me stand out when applying for an Internship at the Bank of England which I was successful in getting. Great experience for people who may not have been able to get something like this otherwise. Which school did you go to? I went to Dunraven Sixth Form where I studied A level maths, further maths and physics. What are you doing at the moment? I m in my 3rd and final year at the University of Essex studying maths and economics. It s great, I m just about to finish so it s getting busy, and I m also looking to start an entrepreneurship course when I finish. The lecturers have been really helpful and have challenged my preconceived ideas of the economy and what it would be like to study this subject. What were your early career ambitions? My father works in hotel maintenance and electronics and my mother works in a care home. I ve always been interested in business. After my first year at Sixth Form I became interested in working in finance and investments. I founded my first company when I was 17 and although it didn t work out it was a great experience. What are your future goals? When I graduate I hope to be able to register my business which is based around university students using their specialised skills to build websites. Short to mid-term, if it works out that will be great, if not, at least I ve given it a shot! I m still really interested in Investments so I ll also look at getting into that industry. Longer term goals? Just to be happy! What impact did participating in Smart Start have on you? After the experience I was able to get a placement at the Bank of England which led to work at university and then another job after that. Having the Smart Start experience in my CV started a positive domino effect. The main benefit for me is the confidence I found in my leadership skills. After completing those tasks, presenting and negotiating, it enabled me to see that I do have the skills needed. For example, I m the President of the Maths Society at university, so those leadership skills I found on the Smart Start experience have helped me at university a lot. 4
Did participating in Smart Start positively influence your decisions about any of the following? From multiple choice tick boxes: 64% SAID ATTENDING UNIVERSITY 74% SAID CAREER CHOICES Have you ever used Smart Start on an application form? 66% of students said they had used it on a UCAS form 60% of students said they had used it on a work experience application As a result of Smart Start, I felt better prepared for work and/or university once I left school/sixth Form: Strongly agree Agree Disagree 5% 43% 50% 73% of students said they had used it when applying for jobs Strongly disagree 2% Participating in Smart Start played a key role in my employability after I left school/sixth Form 97% AGREED Smart Start played a key part in my confidence to succeed after I left school/sixth Form 79% of students agreed or strongly agreed with this statement 89% of students said they use the skills they learn on Smart Start every week or every month In 2009 9% of students strongly agreed with this statement, in 2014 this figure was 50% 5
CASE STUDY: YASMEEN HAMZA Participated 2011 If it was not for Smart Start, I may not have studied Law at university which is something I would have regretted. Which school did you go to? I went to Penton Academy where I studied maths, psychology, sociology and English literature What are you doing at the moment? I m studying at the University of Law part time and working as a paralegal, and I love it! Communication is the most important skill that someone in the legal field requires. Obviously drafting letters, but also being able to communicate verbally with clients, courts and other solicitors. Has the course met your expectations? The LPC is very interesting because it s all about practise. It s so exciting, especially studying part time and working at the same time because I get to implement all of my learning on the job. I m learning the technical and the practical simultaneously. What were your early career ambitions? When I was younger I had that traditional image of being a barrister, wearing a headpiece and speaking in court. It wasn t until Sixth Form that I realised that it was really what I wanted to do because I understood that there was so much more scope to it than I had initially thought. What are your future goals? I have one year of my training left so my main aim at present is to secure a training contract. Law is not just a job for me, it s a career and hopefully one day I ll be a Partner at a Law firm. What impact did participating in Smart Start have on you? I realised that there was a lot more to Law than I had previously thought. That s where my interest in Law really commenced. The insight into Allen & Overy was really valuable. It heightened my expectations of working in Law as it really opened my eyes. It s such a large firm yet all the individuals I met had personal relationships with the people that they were working with. Smart Start has a soft spot in my heart because that s how I met my best friend! We are the closest of friends and that s another reason that I am so grateful for the experience! 6
Can you provide us with an example of how your career goals and plans have been impacted in a positive way because you participated in Smart Start? The most commonly used words when answering this question were: NETWORKING OPTIONS EXPERIENCE CAREER GOALS LAW CONFIDENCE REALISE FUTURE GIVEN ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY POSITIVE FOCUSED TRAINING CAREER PATH When we were taken on a tour of the building and shown different departments and told what they do, it made me realise just how much goes into running a successful Law firm. It s not just a bunch of lawyers at their desks preparing cases. I began to think more about my options outside of becoming a lawyer. Although I m now a Law student in my final year, I have decided I would like to go into accounting. I, one day, would like to run my own business and I figured it would be awesome if I could learn how to do accounts etc. so then I d have both legal and financial knowledge to run my business efficiently. Smart Start Student, 2011 7
We asked people to reflect on their participation in Smart Start by asking them In what ways did Smart Start help you? The following percentage of students surveyed agreed with each of the following: With contacts 51% With resources 33% With specialist knowledge in Law 42% With constructive feedback 53% With being more confident 77% With staying optimistic about my future 78% With my UCAS form 56% With personal advice 48% With public speaking skills 79% With meeting new people 92% With networking skills 90% 8
CASE STUDY: ALI SHEIKH Participated 2013 I genuinely feel that Smart Start provides an absolutely unique opportunity to develop a network with top professionals within Allen & Overy. Coming from a background where no one in my family had studied Law it gave a great chance to establish a familiarity in the field. Which school did you go to? I went to Dunraven School in Streatham. I studied chemistry, biology, history and economics and the extended project qualification. What are you doing at the moment? I m in my second year of Law at Birmingham University. It s really good. It has taken a bit of getting used to but once you put the hard work in, it s enjoyable and very interesting. Day-to-day, you have to be independent, self-motivated and good at time management. When you re working on group projects team work is very important and to be able to understand different viewpoints and collaborate effectively. I m being pushed and it s a new experience. What were your early career ambitions? My mother is a beautician and my father works in security. I really wanted to be a pilot when I was younger. After that it was medicine but after some work experience I realised that it wasn t for me. When I participated in Smart Start I had a list of ideas but hadn t decided what I wanted to study after school. What are your future goals? Short-term, I d like to work in Corporate Law and secure a training contract with Allen & Overy. I d also like to complete a charity trek at Machu Picchu. Once I ve qualified and whilst working for the firm I d like to set up a social mobility foundation like SEO Scholars. I m passionate about it because I ve seen the benefits of the Smart Start experience. It s a way of connecting influence with students in low performing schools that may have hardships in their families. What impact did participating in Smart Start have on you? Initially I wasn t really planning on going into Law, but Smart Start really motivated me to study it at university. The exposure showed me there was more to Law than criminal and family. From Smart Start I realised I can combine learning about the Law and apply it into a financial environment. The communication skills, working under pressure, body language, how to present yourself and working as a team were all very useful and I still use them day-to-day in my studies, as I will for the rest of my life. 9
TESTIMONIALS When I started the Smart Start experience I wasn t sure about university, however I did have an interest in the legal field, without much knowledge on how I would be able to set myself up to enter the field. Participating in the Smart Start experience meant that I was exposed to the legal career through participation in networking events, but it also meant I was set up with skills I feel have helped me reach the position I am in today. For instance, interview skills, and being taught how to structure answers in a desirable way. I also felt that the Smart Start experience was a big motivator, being exposed to lawyers that work at Allen & Overy and hearing about where they came from meant that the idea of entering the legal profession became more obtainable. I feel it set the foundation for both my interest in the legal profession, but also helped progression into further work experience and now, full time employment in the legal field. It helped me understand that nothing is beyond my reach. Coming from a non-privileged background I never thought that I would be able to get any work experience at all but I am extremely grateful to Allen & Overy for providing me with the high quality training which has definitely increased my self-confidence and ambition to study Law at university. Through this programme I gained a real insight into the world of business and the opportunity to start building a network of contacts among business professionals. Smart Start exposed me to the city work environment and also set me up with skills that have helped kick start my progression into the world of work. I am currently doing a legal apprenticeship in legal services at a corporate city Law firm, and I believe that the Smart Start experience both sparked my interest but also set me up with skills that have helped me get such a rare and highly valuable opportunity in the legal sector. I will always look back on [Smart Start] as such a wonderful experience that played a key role in my life after the Experience. It genuinely improved aspects of my personality and made me a more confident person ready to tackle the world of work. Smart Start did not only provide me with confidence and knowledge, it also has provided me with new friends, one of which has become the dearest of friends. 10