Trainee continuing professional development (TCPD) is structured learning undertaken over and above your office commitments, with a view to such learning assisting your achievement of the PEAT 2 outcomes.
Over the course of a traineeship, you are required to undertake a minimum of 60 hours of TCPD:
- A minimum of 40 hours of the minimum 60 hours must come from an authorised provider (see full list below).
- Between months nine and 15 of a traineeship, you are required to undertake the mandatory ethics course. This is the only mandatory element of TCPD and must be of at least four hours' training and come from an authorised provider.
- The Society would expect that a minimum of 30 hours of TCPD should normally have been undertaken by month 15 of the traineeship but this is not a requirement.
- Trainees should note that, should they wish to be admitted as a solicitor after completing the first year of their training contact, they will require to have completed a minimum of 20 hours of TCPD. Please note that these hours can be either authorised, or non authorised, or a combination of both.
For further information in relation to TCPD, including the differences between authorised and non-authorised TCPD and whether or not you are eligible to claim travel and accommodation expenses for TCPD, please see the FAQs section below.
The following activities could be included as TCPD:
- courses
- seminars
- lectures
- conferences
- briefings
- role plays
- simulated transactions and case studies
- workshops
- online learning and distance learning courses
TCPD can focus on skills (eg negotiation skills, advocacy, presentation skills), on legal knowledge (eg any knowledge update relevant to a trainee's practice), on ethics or on business, commercial, financial and practice awareness.
Up to 20 hours of TCPD can come from non-authorised sources. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, there are many private organisations which offer very good CPD which would be of benefit to trainees. It may be that, if these organisations were required by the Law Society to do so, such providers would not wish to come forward for TCPD authorisation. Such examples might include local faculties, advocates' stables or other professional bodies (eg ICAS, RICS etc). Secondly, some firms may not be in a position to come forward to be authorised as TCPD providers. That said, the firm may offer update sessions internally. Such sessions could count towards a trainee's non-authorised TCPD.
Non-authorised TCPD should be recorded in the same way, should be able to be verified and should focus on the PEAT 2 outcomes.
No. Personal study is expected as part of the traineeship and background reading prior to TCPD events may be very useful. However, reading cannot count towards authorised TCPD provision or for non-authorised TCPD provision, as it is not verifiable.
A firm or organisation which takes trainees can apply for authorisation to offer the minimum of 40 hours' TCPD as an authorised provider. If a firm or organisation does not feel that becoming an authorised provider of TCPD is an option for them, it is still possible for them to offer up to 20 hours of non-authorised provision to its trainees. For example, if a firm ran update sessions on certain areas of law for all staff then this could be counted be as non-authorised TCPD. It is important to note that, in order to be able to count as non-authorised TCPD, such sessions must still be focused on the PEAT 2 outcomes, be recorded in the same way and be able to be verified.
It is possible for any firm or organisation to offer the up to 20 hours of non-authorised provision to its trainees.
You are required to log any TCPD that you undertake during your traineeship as part of your PEAT 2 record.
It will be the responsibility of you and your training solicitor to identify appropriate TCPD to support your development and achievement of the PEAT 2 outcomes. You will be responsible for logging completed TCPD through the PEAT 2 record. Authorised providers of TCPD will supply the Society with attendance lists for TCPD events and your record will be checked against the authorised provider's list. An automated process in the database will check that TCPD details are being entered and emails will be issued to you at key points during the two-year contract to ensure that at least the minimum of 60 hours' TCPD is completed.
The requirement to undertake TCPD is part of the Admission as a Solicitor (Scotland) Regulations 2011. Therefore, failure to comply with the TCPD requirements may result in you not being admitted as solicitor. For trainees seeking to be admitted following the first year of their traineeship, a minimum of 20 hours of TCPD must have been undertaken.
A trainee may not be discharged until they have completed the TCPD requirements. If for any reason you suspect that you may not be able to comply with the TCPD requirements, please contact the Society as soon as possible.
The Society maintains a travel and accommodation fund, to assist those who are training in remoter parts of Scotland and who require to travel long distances and/or stay overnight in order to access appropriate TCPD. Trainees can apply for this assistance by using this application form. Details of the assistance available can be found on the application form and in the accompanying notes to that form. For further information or guidance on this matter, please contact Martyn Robinson in the Education, Training and Qualifications team at [email protected].
The table below is a list of all of the organisations that are currently authorised by the Society to deliver TCPD.
Please note that many of these organisations do not offer exclusively TCPD, but additionally CPD which cannot be undertaken as an alternative.
CPD may be undertaken with these providers, but please note it can only count to your 'non-authorised TCPD' allocation.
| Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) | [email protected] - 0115 943 5400 |
| Blackadders LLP | [email protected] - 01382 229 227 |
| Carlton Legal Services | [email protected] - 0141 530 1358 |
| CCPD Training | [email protected] - 0141 314 3682 |
| Central Law Training and The University of Strathclyde | [email protected] - 0141 225 6700 |
| Clan Child Law | [email protected] - 0808 129 0522 |
| Glasgow Bar Association | [email protected] - 0141 420 6142 |
| Government Legal Services For Scotland | [email protected] |
| Morton Fraser LLP | [email protected] - 0131 247 1200 |
| Scottish Law Agents Society | [email protected] - 0141 332 3536 |
| The Legal Services Agency | [email protected] - 0141 354 1274 |
| The Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow incorporating TANQ | [email protected] - 0141 332 3593 |
| The University of Aberdeen School of Law | [email protected] - 01224 274062 |
| The University of Edinburgh School of Law | [email protected] - 0131 651 4254 |
| The University of Glasgow School of Law | [email protected] - 0141 330 5528 |
| The WS Society | [email protected] - 0131 220 3249 |
| Update Trainee CPD | [email protected] - 0131 476 8201 |
The table below is a list of all of the organisations that are currently authorised by the Society to deliver the mandatory ethics course.
| Blackadders LLP | [email protected] - 01382 229222 |
| CCPD Training | [email protected] - 0141 314 3682 |
| Central Law Training and The University of Strathclyde | [email protected] - 0141 225 6700 |
| Glasgow Bar Association | [email protected] - 0141 420 6142 |
| Scottish Law Agents Society | [email protected] - 0141 332 3536 |
| The University of Aberdeen School of Law | [email protected] 01224 274062 |
| The University of Edinburgh School of Law | [email protected] - 0131 651 4254 |
| The University of Glasgow School of Law | [email protected] - 0141 330 5528 |
| Update Trainee CPD | [email protected] - 0131 476 8201 |
There are a number of licence documents that practice units and training organisations who wish to offer TCPD can apply for:
- Licence A - authorised review procedure - This is specifically for organisations whose performance management systems meet the standards of the Society's own PEAT 2 quarterly performance review system.
- Licence B - This is for firms and practice units that wish to offer authorised TCPD to their own trainees.
- Licence C - This is for practice units or other providers of training (eg private providers, universities, local faculties) that wish to offer authorised TCPD externally.
- Licence D - This is for practice units or other providers of training (eg private providers, universities, local faculties) that wish to offer the mandatory ethics course to either their own trainees or to those of other practice units.
These licences are optional. An overview of the authorisation process can be found here.
If you have any questions about the licensing procedure, please contact [email protected].
Work towards the PEAT 2 outcomes
During the 2 year traineeship, trainees will be given activities that will allow them to work towards the PEAT2 outcomes.
