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As someone else has said simple supply and demand. Way too many people looking to get into the profession at solicitor level. There also seems to be a sense of entitlement in youngsters these days and no I'm not 90! Where is the hunger, work ethic and nouse?

A big issue for small to medium firms is NQ retention. Recruiters are like parasites, plaguing our youngsters almost daily promising them the earth. The majority get tempted away within a couple of years. Where is the incentive to take them on in the first place?

My firm has decided to no longer recruit trainees externally having in most years taken on 2-3. Instead we have over the last 6-9 months started taking on paralegals, some of whom have LPC or looking to that longer term. We pay them above average and treat them well. We have just offered a training contract to one of them for later in the year. The quality of the staff we have taken on has been fantastic and has turned a negative into a major positive for the business while giving opportunities to people that otherwise might have struggled to get a look in. It was a gamble but delighted with the results. The world is changing and we need to change with it.