Professional Skills Course UWE Bristol (University of the West of England)

Overview

The Professional Skills Course (PSC) at the UWE Bristol (University of the West of England) provides training in the practical skills you will need as you progress in your role as a trainee solicitor. From advocacy and communication, to client care and professional standards, you will gain a solid grounding in all the areas that are essential and highly advantageous to your practice.

This is a compulsory skills-based course that the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) requires you to complete before your admission as a solicitor. Building on the foundations laid in the Advanced Legal Practice (LPC LLM) course, the full course includes 12 days of training in total, which you will usually complete during your two-year period of recognised training.

Learning and Teaching

• Our PSC is now predominantly delivered online, with one element of the Financial & Business Skills course hosted Face-to-Face on-campus at Frenchay.

• The course is highly interactive, with plenty of classroom discussion, group work and opportunities to use your skills and reflect on your practice. As well as industry talks, you will have the chance to prepare and present a trial in a courtroom environment. This exercise is recorded for future analysis.
• You will need to attend 12 days of training in total to complete the full course and 8 days for the core-only option. You can choose to do the modules in whichever order you like, although it is advisable to complete the compulsory core modules first before going on to your electives. 

Careers / Further study

• Studying the PSC is a requirement of the SRA, but also an invaluable opportunity to enhance your skill-set as you progress in your role. You will gain increased confidence in areas such as presenting and advocacy, and develop a strong awareness of all the key areas that influence and feed into your practice. The course is also a valuable opportunity to reflect on what kind of lawyer you want to be in the future, and how you want your career to progress as either a solicitor or barrister.

• Our award-winning Careers Service helps you develop your employment potential through career coaching, a vacancy service for internships, placements, jobs, global opportunities, volunteering and community activity plus support for entrepreneurial activity, and access to employer events.