SQE Exam Preparation: A Guide to Qualifying Work Experience

Jun 18, 2023

Written By Nandini Jadeja

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has created more options for aspiring solicitors to gain the experience required to qualify. But, what are these options, and how can you navigate them? Read on to find out.

What is Qualifying Work Experience?

Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) is a period of experience which is needed to qualify as a solicitor. The SRA states that QWE must be two years full-time (or equivalent) and must involve providing legal services or completing legal work. The provider of your QWE should also ensure that the work they set you is allowing you to develop key competencies as laid out in the ‘Statement of Solicitor Competence’ here.

What are competencies?

Competencies are essentially skills that the SQE2 exam will assess, and that all solicitors should have. Competencies include: legal knowledge and understanding, ethics, integrity, and judgement.

For a placement to count as QWE, it should allow you to practise at least two competencies outlined by the SRA. There is no requirement to complete all the competencies in a single placement, nor is there any outline as to which competencies you should practise in a placement.

However, bear in mind that the SQE2 exam will test most, if not all outlined competencies. So, the more exposure you can have during your placements, the better prepared you will be for SQE2.

How can I complete QWE?

Importantly, QWE can be completed in up to four different organisations. These placements don’t need to be the same length: for instance one could be a year long and you could have two others which are six months long. Each QWE provider needs to meet the QWE requirements detailed above, and should sign off that you completed a period of QWE with them.

Is it better to have multiple placements?

Not necessarily. Employers will not necessarily be more likely to view you favourably if you have done multiple placements for your QWE, and it may give you less time with each one to learn key skills. Applying for different placements will also be time consuming.

However, if you do not know the specific type of law you wish to specialise in, QWE can be a great way to try out different areas, much like how a trainee will sit in multiple seats during their training contract. Since placements do not have to be the same length, you have lots of flexibility, as long as you do not go over four placements.

Where can I complete QWE?

QWE can be completed in a variety of organisations, including law firms, legal aid centres, in-house legal teams or other legal providers.

How can I arrange a placement?

Some more traditional routes to qualify, like training contracts, automatically count as QWE. If you wish to do QWE at a high street law firm for instance, or other legal providers, you should check beforehand that the work they’re offering counts as QWE and sign you off once you have completed it.

What comes after QWE?

Once you have completed two years of full-time (or equivalent) QWE, you will need to pass the SQE exams before qualifying as a solicitor. Though you can sit SQE2 before QWE, most people wait until they have done enough work experience as part of QWE, as SQE2 tests some of the skills you will have picked up over the two years.

Can I use previous work experience?

You can sign off previous work experience as QWE, provided that it fulfils the QWE requirements outlined by the SRA. If it wasn’t supervised by someone qualified in England and Wales, you can work with the Solicitors Regulation Authority to have them make sure that the work you did counts.

How about financing the SQE?

The SRA states that 'candidates can gain QWE before, during or after they sit the SQE assessments.’ This means that you can begin QWE at any point, and can use the money you earn completing this to finance your SQE exams.

It is worth noting that there is no uniform pay structure across QWE providers, so there may be considerable variation between different legal providers if you choose to complete more than one placement. QWE also does not have to be paid.

Finally, if you choose to complete a training contract to satisfy QWE requirements, many top firms will cover the exam fees, and even provide you with a grant to support you while you’re studying.

How can I record QWE?

There is no singular way to record QWE, but the SRA has a template you can use to keep a record of work completed during your placements. You should record the tasks you complete and the skills you have practised, as the SRA will need these to decide whether you have completed QWE sufficiently or not.

Overall, QWE opens up several options for aspiring solicitors to gain the necessary experience they need to qualify as a solicitor.

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