National Conveyancing Week 2023 - Kate Forsdike

We’re midway through National Conveyancing Week and, with so much to celebrate, it’s hard to believe that many firms are still finding it hard to recruit qualified conveyancers.

PCS Legal, a firm specialising in conveyancing, wills and probate, has dealt with the shortage by taking on apprentices with Total People. We spoke with Kate Forsdike, licensed conveyancer and partner at PCS Legal, to find out how the experience had been:
 

Hi Kate, thanks for joining us today to share your experience of taking on an apprentice with Total People. Tell us a little bit about your role.

Yes, my job as a licensed conveyancer is to provide a legal service to the public when they're buying and selling a property. Our job is really to undertake all of the legal work on behalf of our clients and bring them to an exchange and completion on their property.
 

So, what’s going on in the property industry at the moment?

Conveyancing is very dependent on the housing market. We see times where conveyancing volumes can increase greatly, such as the stamp duty holidays of the past couple of years. We can also see times where conveyancing levels can drop, for example in September when the mortgage rates changed in the mini budget.

So, as I said, conveyancing is really dependent on the housing market. However, we feel that as long as people are still willing to sell and buy their properties, we'll always remain busy no matter what the housing market is doing.
 

What was your main reason for PCS Legal taking on apprentices?

Well, PCS Legal are a progressive firm anyway, so we like to train people from within. We feel that taking on an apprentice gives an opportunity to somebody that has no experience or knowledge in the field. We can provide them with adequate training and experience for them to develop their career further.

I personally feel it’s a really good starting point for anyone who's thinking about a career in conveyancing. It’s especially good for those that don't particularly want to do a law degree, it is a good way to start. And I kind of wish these opportunities were around when I was younger. I'm a big advocate for it.
 

Has PCS Legal brought in new apprentices to the firm, or have you focussed on enrolling existing colleagues onto the apprenticeship course?

We've actually done a bit of both. We have employees at PCS who are currently undertaking the conveyance in apprenticeship, but previously we have recruited new employees on a different apprenticeship scheme. Overall, we feel that it works best when employees get can get a little bit of experience first, and then we can move them onto the conveyancing apprenticeship when they're ready to do so.
 

What benefits have you noticed since you started taking on apprentices?

Having another person in the team that we can train and grow and become part of our conveyancing team. We're always grateful for an extra pair of hands!

Knowledge is absolutely key in our profession and the apprenticeship does give you that technical knowledge. The key ultimately is to really have good staff, which makes our jobs a lot easier.
 

How has your experience been with Total People?

Our experience has been really good so far. I like to see the apprentices supported and I like the fact they have regular contact with their tutors. I like to see them progress and for the apprentices to reach their goals and their main objective, which is to get the qualification thereafter.
 

How have your team found their experience of studying with Total People? What sorts of things have they particularly liked about it?

The feedback from our apprentices so far is that they’ve enjoyed the course, especially the different learning approaches. It's not just a case of “here's the manual read through it”, there's lots of different learning approaches such as webinars, assignments and reading materials as well. So, it kind of makes it a bit more exciting.
 

Why was it that you were chose to work with Total People rather than another provider?

As I said previously, at PCS Legal we are a progressive firm, so we hope to put through a number of apprentices each year. We wanted a provider who could accommodate our needs as an employer and also provide a good level of support to our apprentices as well. We like to work with yourselves to make sure that the apprentices are getting the best level of support they can do, and also work with us to make sure that they achieve their goals.
 

Why should someone who's watching this choose Total People for an apprenticeship?

I would highly recommend Total People. Our apprentices are supported throughout their course and I feel like the regular meetings do really help them stay on track. I'll definitely recommend them.
 

So last but not least, why should someone consider a career in conveyancing?

Well, that's a good question. Conveyancing is a complex area of law and it's also very fast paced, so it's definitely not for the faint hearted!

I personally like the fact that every property is different, so it's never boring. You never clock watch or anything like that.
You’re working with clients every day and there's nothing better than telling a client that they've just completed on their dream property. I would personally recommend a career in conveyancing.