'23-'24 International/Foreign/Mature/Career changers/Non-Traditional

[Deleted member 25207]

Hi,

I thought I'd start an entire thread dedicated to non-traditional, non-home applicants. Particularly as it relates to vacation schemes.

If everyone who has already applied to VS this year can share their experiences of obtaining them thus far, including names of law firms which have responded favorably as well as as any coveted firms that's due to get back in touch.

Everyone is welcome to share their perspectives and observations in regards to firms that have seemed most open-minded and appreciative of non-standard applicants throughout your trajectory, whether it relates to diversity intake, a visa-progressive policy, etc.

If you can include a short profile to contextualise your background that would be awesome too.

Look forward to hearing any other insights and experiences you'd care to share with us all on this journey

 

[sumi-na]

Hi All,

I go to a South African University. I'm in the final undergrad year, and working to secure a Training Contract.

There are quite a few firms, like Clyde and Co, that only recruit via vac scheme, and then they do not sponsor visas for the vac scheme. I was wondering if these firms are just a no go then. Or, has anyone found an alternative way to apply for their Training Contract / attend their vacation scheme remotely?

Thanks!

 

[RANDOTRON]

Hi All,

I go to a South African University. I'm in the final undergrad year, and working to secure a Training Contract.

There are quite a few firms, like Clyde and Co, that only recruit via vac scheme, and then they do not sponsor visas for the vac scheme. I was wondering if these firms are just a no go then. Or, has anyone found an alternative way to apply for their Training Contract / attend their vacation scheme remotely?

Thanks!

Hi there! Most firms will not provide sponsorship for vacation schemes - I imagine it would be quite difficult (if not impossible) for a firm to sponsor a worker visa for what's effectively a one to two-week internship. As for remote vacation schemes, there could be firms which still do them, but I personally don't know any. Firms seem to have by and large returned to in-person vacation schemes since the lifting of COVID restrictions.

You can apply for direct training contracts for firms that offer them. That being said, the application stages for some firms will require you to be there in-person (e.g., interviews, case study exercises, etc.) so this might become an issue for you. I suggest collating a list of firms you're interested in, look at what their application stages involves (they will generally publish this) and filter from there. If you're not sure if a particular stage is remote or not, contact graduate recruitment and ask.

Another option for you is to be physically present in the UK with the right to work. In general, for international students, there are two visas which grants you the right to work to undertake a vacation scheme: the student visa (SV) and the graduate visa (GV).

You can get the SV if you study a course by an licensed student sponsor (which includes most, if not all, UK universities). Since you're nearly done with your undergraduate degree, you could look into doing a Master's at a UK university to get the SV, although courses can be costly. You'll usually be restricted in the number of hours you can work under an SV during term time but generally you can work full-time during non-term time. You'll have to check the timings of the schemes against your SV and your university term times.

As for GV, you'll only be able to apply for this after successfully completing a course in the UK. GV lasts two years (unless you have a PhD) and gives you the right to stay and work full-time in the UK for those two years. This visa acts sort of like a time extension. For example, if you were not able to secure a training contract while doing your Master's degree in the UK, you can then apply for the GV and have two more years to try. You'll only be able to use the GV once.

There are other visas out there that grant the right to work, but I don't know your nationality, so I won't comment on them. Here's the link to all the visas available (https://www.gov.uk/apply-to-come-to-the-uk) and here's the ones that give you the right to work (https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas).

Good luck, and I hope this helps!

 

[sumi-na]

Hi there! Most firms will not provide sponsorship for vacation schemes - I imagine it would be quite difficult (if not impossible) for a firm to sponsor a worker visa for what's effectively a one to two-week internship. As for remote vacation schemes, there could be firms which still do them, but I personally don't know any. Firms seem to have by and large returned to in-person vacation schemes since the lifting of COVID restrictions.

You can apply for direct training contracts for firms that offer them. That being said, the application stages for some firms will require you to be there in-person (e.g., interviews, case study exercises, etc.) so this might become an issue for you. I suggest collating a list of firms you're interested in, look at what their application stages involves (they will generally publish this) and filter from there. If you're not sure if a particular stage is remote or not, contact graduate recruitment and ask.

Another option for you is to be physically present in the UK with the right to work. In general, for international students, there are two visas which grants you the right to work to undertake a vacation scheme: the student visa (SV) and the graduate visa (GV).

You can get the SV if you study a course by an licensed student sponsor (which includes most, if not all, UK universities). Since you're nearly done with your undergraduate degree, you could look into doing a Master's at a UK university to get the SV, although courses can be costly. You'll usually be restricted in the number of hours you can work under an SV during term time but generally you can work full-time during non-term time. You'll have to check the timings of the schemes against your SV and your university term times.

As for GV, you'll only be able to apply for this after successfully completing a course in the UK. GV lasts two years (unless you have a PhD) and gives you the right to stay and work full-time in the UK for those two years. This visa acts sort of like a time extension. For example, if you were not able to secure a training contract while doing your Master's degree in the UK, you can then apply for the GV and have two more years to try. You'll only be able to use the GV once.

There are other visas out there that grant the right to work, but I don't know your nationality, so I won't comment on them. Here's the link to all the visas available (https://www.gov.uk/apply-to-come-to-the-uk) and here's the ones that give you the right to work (https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas).

Good luck, and I hope this helps!

Hi! Thank you so much for your response.

My question was rather about whether anyone has ever contacted the firms which only recruit through vacation schemes, about alternative recruitment processes if you are not able to attend a vacation scheme at all.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Even remote vacation schemes are subject to U.K. employment regulations and require people to have the right to work in the U.K., and therefore aren’t necessarily a solution (unfortunately).

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi! Thank you so much for your response.

My question was rather about whether anyone has ever contacted the firms which only recruit through vacation schemes, about alternative recruitment processes if you are not able to attend a vacation scheme at all.

They would tell you to apply to a direct TC process, which is difficult if most or all of their trainees are hired from vacation schemes.

 

[AndreaMartins]

Hi! Thank you so much for your response.

My question was rather about whether anyone has ever contacted the firms which only recruit through vacation schemes, about alternative recruitment processes if you are not able to attend a vacation scheme at all.

Vacation schemes require you to be physically in the uk ,that's the only way they can assess you , and because these firms don't sponsor the visa, you would have to sponsor it yourself. If you cant afford to get a visa id suggest to try apply directly to TC's.

I'm an overseas student as well so i'm kinda going through the same

 

[Deleted member 31263]

Hi,

I thought I'd start an entire thread dedicated to non-traditional, non-home applicants. Particularly as it relates to vacation schemes.

If everyone who has already applied to VS this year can share their experiences of obtaining them thus far, including names of law firms which have responded favorably as well as as any coveted firms that's due to get back in touch.

Everyone is welcome to share their perspectives and observations in regards to firms that have seemed most open-minded and appreciative of non-standard applicants throughout your trajectory, whether it relates to diversity intake, a visa-progressive policy, etc.

If you can include a short profile to contextualise your background that would be awesome too.

Look forward to hearing any other insights and experiences you'd care to share with us all on this journey

Clifford Chance's TC application asks whether you are a career changer - just not sure if it's a good thing or a quick way of sieving the candidates they don't want