A new legal sector training platform for new times...
For the price of a typical PSC Electives package, we give you...
... 40 hours of flexible & bite-sized online soft skills training plus a 24/7 back-up website
... A complete PSC Electives Package (12 hours online, 12 hours face-to-face)
... A dynamic training management, audit & appraisal system
... SRA Work Based Learning compliance platform
... SRA Work Based Learning advice, training workshops & support leading up to implementation September 2012 onwards
For the latest on the SRA's Work Based Learning Pilot, go to our dedicated Work Based Learning area or contact us.
How Online Mentor works: Freeth Cartwright LLP Case Study
We provide Freeth Cartwright LLP with the full Online Mentor package. Their trainees enroll on our two year, 40 hour online soft skills programme and demonstrate engagement with the course via the online Q&As, which can be reviewed online by the trainee, supervisors and HR department via their Training Journal.
Within the 40 hours of online content, 12 is validated for the PSC Electives programme.
Trainees log their training contract experience on their online Training Journal and can tick which area of work it relates to, whether it was contentious or non-contentious and, most importantly, which Work Based Learning skills outcomes or 'competencies' they engaged. Trainees are given space to reflect on their experience in order to enhance the training cycle. Both the trainee and the firm can then search and review the online Training Journal to check how the trainee is progressing on a competency by competency basis.
This in turn feeds into the appraisal cycle, enabling both the trainee and the firm to manage training contract performance and progression more rigorously and strategically.
How Online Mentor works: Hammonds LLP Case Study
Hammonds LLP has a Hammonds-branded version of the platform with the ability to modify the training content and also set the skills competencies to be completely Hammonds-specific.
Hammonds trainees on qualification graduate onto our Online Mentor Solicitor platform with tailored training content and Hammonds-specific key performance indicators for 0 - 4 year PQE.
BUDGET NEUTRAL - Online Mentor more than pays for itself out of your mandatory PSC Electives budget (ask us about our PSC Electives 'PRICE MATCH' offer)
50% or 100% PSC Electives Package
- Our online Electives package counts for 50% of the total PSC Electives requirement - so Online Mentor pays for itself out of your existing PSC budget whilst also eliminating the added cost and disruption of trainees being absent for 12 hours of full- or half-day training courses.
- We can in addition provide the remaining 12 hours of face-to-face PSC Electives ourselves in place of your current provider (subject to minimum numbers & for firms who enrol on or before September 2011)
PLUS...
A full online training programme
- 40+ hours of online training content with Q&As and an online training journal for each trainee
- Written for lawyers, by lawyers
- Full A-Z professional skills coverage
- Off the shelf or tailored to the Firm
- Delivered each week of the training contract to the trainee's PC in bite-size chunks
- Available online when trainees need it most
"The online mentor has been great. I used it a lot over the first month and it put me at ease knowing that the problems I face are commonplace and the guidance of the OM helps by offering very useful options and guidance to overcome the difficulties."
"I have found the resource very useful, the articles have made me think a lot more about what I need to do to progress professionally and make the most out of my training contract."
"I really like the online mentor system. I read the articles when they come through and find them really helpful. They're really simple things that I don't really think of and just make me think a bit more about what I'm doing/can do to help me get the most out of my training contract."
Training Journal & Management Platform
- Online Mentor Trainee provides a dynamic online training journal that covers SRA training record compliance...
- ...a CV Building facility...
- ...and a full Training Management Platform (which can be plugged into the firm's existing appraisal system)
Work Based Learning compliance
- The Online Mentor Training Management Platform complies with the SRA's Work Based Learning requirements thanks to our work on the SRA's pilot, making it easy for you to adjust to and get ready for Work Based Learning (contact us to subscribe to our Work Based Learning updates).
"The Online Mentor system is comprehensive, easy to use and effective in addressing the challenges posed by WBL."
"The demonstration of Online Mentor and an inspection of records contained on the system demonstrated an efficient and effective system for recording and review."
"All parties confirmed the effectiveness and simplicity in use of Online Mentor."
"WBL candidates were very supportive of the scheme...they found Online Mentor easy to use and not particularly time consuming."
SRA Report November 2009
Exceptional Value & Coverage per pound spent
- All these features within our uniquely affordable pricing model gives maximum coverage for every pound spent, and with our PSC Electives 'PRICE MATCH' offer, you can buy the full Online Mentor platform without spending an extra penny above your existing training budget.
CPD
- At qualification, our Online Mentor Solicitor platform provides seamless continuation and CPD hours
For more information, or for details of our Free Trials, Contact Us.
For more information on Work Based Learning, with a full summary and analysis of the SRA pilot, go to our Work Based Learning page.
Written for lawyers, by lawyers
Our content is written specifically for trainees by experienced solicitors. A mixture of current and former practitioners, we have a wealth of experience both in legal practice and in professional legal education and training. For profiles, see About us.
A full A-Z professional skills programme...
Our comprehensive but highly relevant programme covers over 40 hours of online content across key skills areas (for programme details, see our list of programme modules below).
...off the shelf or tailored...
Firms can choose to take the programme 'off the shelf', or tailor it to their specific requirements including their very own version of the Online Mentor website incorporating the Firm's branding (see for example the Hammonds Online Mentor homepage).
...delivered each week of the training contract in bite-size chunks...
We don't expect practitioners to set aside hours at a time for skills training - we deliver the programme by email each week over the two year training contract. By breaking the programme down into 20 minute chunks each week, we cover 500+ pages of training content whilst minimising disruption to the lawyer and firm alike: the trainee is not required to go off-site or into training rooms - the programme fits around their work, not the other way round.
...but available 24/7, and when trainees need it most
Let's say you are a trainee and you've been asked to go to a networking event after work - log onto our website and you can go straight to our 'Networking & Marketing Events' section to brush up on some top tips and 'how to' items, for example how to 'work a room' and remember names and faces.
Or perhaps you've just been asked to meet a client and take instructions at short notice - our 'Meetings' section has all you need to know on how to set up, lead and sweep up on a meeting effectively.
Online Mentor acts as a bridge between learning by training and learning by 'doing' - trainees engage with training content on our programme and can then apply it in 'real time' in practice. Through the Online Journal, they can then capture this experience, and reflect on their competence, including points for further development.
Online Journal
Each user gets their own online training journal which captures progress on the Online Mentor programme automatically.
Online Journal: SRA Training Record compliance
But the journal goes beyond this, covering the trainee's SRA Training Record obligation, with trainees logging their training and development experience against SRA (or firm-specific) outcomes through an efficient online system which is quick and easy to use and encourages regular engagement and reflection.
Online Journal: CV Building facility
By logging practice experience against specific practice areas as well as specific skills, the Online Mentor Journal also acts as a powerful CV Builder - particularly relevant for a very competitive NQ market.
For example, a trainee can ask the system "what drafting work have I done on commercial contracts in the last year?" or "what client contact have I had in my training contract?" and our easy to use search will identify the relevant entries in the journal.
Online Journal: Training Management Platform, with appraisal interface
Firms buying the Online Mentor package get not just a full professional skills programme, but a complete training management and review system with a highly efficient online interface.
Firms can monitor trainee progress against the SRA Skills Standards or, with our tailored platforms, they can track progress against firm-specific criteria, with the ability to plug this into existing appraisal systems.
For more information and pricing on our training management platforms, please Contact Us.
Get ready for Work Based Learning the easy way
"The Online Mentor system is comprehensive, easy to use and effective in addressing the challenges posed by WBL."
"The demonstration of Online Mentor and an inspection of records contained on the system demonstrated an efficient and effective system for recording and review."
"All parties confirmed the effectiveness and simplicity in use of Online Mentor."
"WBL candidates were very supportive of the scheme...they found Online Mentor easy to use and not particularly time consuming."
SRA Report November 2009
Our online platform tracks and complies with the SRA's Work Based Learning requirements and we provide the online Work Based Learning platform for one of the key law firms on the pilot as well as working closely with the SRA, Nottingham Law School and the Oxford Institute of Legal Practice.
Our WBL management platform makes it easy for the firm to monitor and assess trainee progress at a very modest annual subscription based on the number of trainees at the firm.
For more information on Work Based Learning, see our Work Based Learning pages.
Price: affordable, with maximum coverage for every pound spent...
Our online programme provides huge coverage and value for a very modest per trainee subscription. Our programme provides 40+ hours of training coverage across the following key skills:
Online Mentor: Programme Modules
- Client Care (1 hour 20 mins)
- Understanding Clients/Commercial Awareness (2 hours 20 mins)
- Attention to detail (1 hour 40 mins)
- Communicating by email (1 hour 40 mins)
- Effective meetings (1 hour 40 mins)
- Taking notes & instructions (1 hour 20 mins)
- Negotiation (1 hour 40 mins)
- Communicating by telephone (2 hours)
- Writing & Grammar (3 hours)
- Managing your training contract (5 hours)
- Contact Building & Networking (2 hours)
- Marketing & Networking Events (2 hours 20 mins)
- Marketing for Lawyers (2 hours)
- Presentation skills (2 hours 40 mins)
- Managing Supervisors (2 hours 20 mins)
- Time & Work Management (7 hours 40 mins)
PLUS - PSC Electives
"All of the modules are highly relevant to the training and skills acquisition of trainee solicitors" and prepared with "vast experience".
"The course content and the way it is delivered have been very well thought out"
SRA: PSC course material assessment report
Online Mentor Trainee comes with PSC Electives validation - enabling you to cover 50% (i.e. 12 hours) of mandatory Electives via our online programme with the option of the remaining 12 hours with our face-to-face training modules (subject to minimum numbers & for firms who enrol on or before September 2011). This enables you to take Online Mentor Trainee at no extra cost whilst eliminating the added cost and disruption of trainees being absent for 12 hours of half-day of full-day training courses.
For details of our pricing structure and Free Trials, Contact Us.
Online Mentor Solicitor platform: seamless continuation and CPD at qualification
Online Mentor Solicitor provides a seamless platform for NQs to migrate to, with the professional skills programme tailored and adapted to their level of experience. Lawyers can earn CPD hours flexibly with the Online Mentor Solicitor programme, and the online journal conveniently records the amount of time they spend on CPD.
The trainee-specific skills outcomes in the online journal are replaced with a set of outcomes appropriate for NQ > 4 yr + PQE criteria and/or with firm-specific benchmarks.
For more information, please Contact Us.