AITI Exams and Legal Apprenticeships

I am currently working in a Solicitors Office but am looking for an apprenticeship in general for the last 2 years and getting nowhere fast!! I may have an opportunity of doing my apprenticeship where I currently work but not until the 2008/2009 year.

In the meantime I am looking to do a course during next year that will help me in my future career and if the apprenticeship in the office where I currently am does not happen, aid me in my search for an apprenticeship elsewhere.

As a result I have decided that next year I may begin to do the taxation exams. I have always had an interest in tax after completing some modules in College and an increasing number of Solicitors seem to be completing the tax exams in recent years.

However I note that there are 3 parts to the tax exams and that you only have a limited break you can take between parts. As a result I wonder that if I do attend the Blackhall course in 2008/2009 I won't have enough time to go back and do the part 2 modules and exams before the time lapses.

Does anyone have any experience of doing the tax exams before of soon after blackhall and could give some advice in this regard??

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Miga,

I am in my early thirties and a few years ago I started the tax exams as I work in IT and wanted a career change.
I did Part 1 & 2 in April 2004 and 2005 but then stopped due to having to build a new house and also a pending wedding
You have 3 years in between exams and if you do not sit another exam in this timeframe you lose all the exams you passed.
So for me I have to sit Part 3 no later than April 2008, hope to sit in Sept and finish them and drop to a wage which is below that of when I started working 10yrs ago.....I must be mad
Defo a good idea to do them, there were quite a few solicitors in my class...hope it all works out for you.
I can somewhat understand your frustration as my wife is a solicitor and she found an apprenticeship very hard to come by a good few years ago.

Thanks for that Infoseeker. I'm between two minds about whether to do them as if I start them now it will mean I have to do the next 2 parts straight after I qualify as a Solicitor and will probably already be under alot of stress!! (The 50% pass rate is also not very encouraging!!)

How are you finding the material for Part 3,

Best of Luck with it anyway!