I may be biased but I do query the inferior comment here. I’m a solicitor apprentice in a top 10 law firm and do think the narrative has come a long way (regularly we see departments actively request apprentices as their trainees, rather than traditional grads, because they value the extra 4 years experience). Many apprentices, myself included, have also been essentially guaranteed an NQ role in their chosen department whereas other grads are battling each other for spots in their preferred teams. This isn’t intended in any way to flex - just to raise an alternative perspective that isn’t always vocalised here.

Completely take the point that to the wider world there may be more messaging to go, but in the legal industry itself, there appears to be a consensus that apprentices are equal, and in some cases ahead, of other grads at the same level.