Three Stockport legal apprentices from North West law firm SAS Daniels have met former First Secretary of State and MMU Chancellor, Lord Peter Mandelson.
Lord Mandelson visited Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) to talk with a group of young people from a variety of business sectors about their experiences of apprenticeship schemes.
As Chancellor of MMU, Lord Mandelson met with apprentices who study part-time at the University as part of their apprenticeship schemes. Darren Smith, Jack Kelly and Tom Pollock, from SAS Daniels attend MMU on a regular basis to study for their Level 3 Apprenticeship in Legal Services.
Lord Mandelson spoke with each of the SAS Daniels’ legal apprentices about why they had chosen an apprenticeship over a more traditional route into law, and their experiences of their chosen schemes so far.
Chris Swerling, Head of HR at SAS Daniels said: “We were delighted that three of our apprentices were invited to meet with Lord Mandelson. Our apprenticeship scheme is a fantastic, hands-on route into the legal professional and it’s great that Darren, Jack and Tom were able to share their experiences with him.
“On the successful completion of their two years’ apprenticeship, our apprentices will be offered positions at the firm as paralegals. They can then choose to further pursue their careers and train to become solicitors further down the line if they wish. Schemes like this prove that apprenticeships are a viable alternative to full-time higher education.”
Peter Mandelson was one of several individuals responsible for the rebranding of the Labour Party as New Labour before its subsequent victory in the 1997 election. He resigned twice from the Cabinet before leaving Parliament to take up an appointment as a European Commissioner. He later rejoined the Cabinet for a third time after being created a Life Peer, sitting on the Labour benches in the House of Lords.
L-R Pictured: SAS Daniels Stockport Legal Apprentices Darren Smith, Jack Kelly and Tom Pollock with Lord Mandelson
As a leading North West law firm with offices in Stockport, Macclesfield, Chester and Congleton, SAS Daniels is rated amongst the best in the region by Chambers and The Legal 500.