The REAL REASON training contract numbers are falling (clue: it’s not AI - yet)

<p>The Legal Cheek Podcast is proudly independent. Thanks to our sponsor Simpson Thatcher, home of the private equity training contract, for making that possible: <a href="https://ukearlycareers.stblaw.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://ukearlycareers.stblaw.com/</a> </p><p>Training contract numbers across 100 Legal Cheek Most List firms have fallen by 2% this year, but what is really driving this decline, and why is it not as dramatic as we may have expected?</p><p>In this episode, Legal Cheek founder and publisher Alex Aldridge sits down with events co-ordinator Hannah Thompson to dissect the latest figures and what they mean for future lawyers.</p><p>Everyone is talking about AI as a disruptive force in the graduate recruitment market but is its influence being overstated? To what extent is the rapid growth of solicitor apprenticeships behind the 2% decrease? And how do these figures fit into the wider graduate jobs market?</p><p>Together, they discuss the trends behind the data and why the outlook for aspiring solicitors may be brighter than headlines suggest. </p>