In pursuit of the workplace-ready graduate: Using the UWC Law Clinic's WIL project to prepare final-year law students for entry into legal practice

A recent call in the legal profession in South Africa for universities to produce a greater number work-ready graduates, has seen many law faculties, whose focus is on research and academic teaching, asking how this is to be achieved. The University of the Western Cape (UWC) Law Clinic believes it has found the answer: Workplace Integrated Learning (WIL). This involves the provision of both in-office and out-of-office WIL opportunities - in-office, in the form of a working duty period at the office, and out-of-office, in the form of an assignment requiring students to attend court and observe practitioners and others at work. These opportunities have been used by the UWC Law Clinic to raise the skill level of final-year law students and so increase their employability. It was found that WIL opportunities provided immense value for students. This includes developing students' communication, drafting and interpersonal skills. However, while this is a means to improve the skills graduates require in the workplace, various challenges, such as higher student numbers and resource constraints, need to be overcome before WIL could see mainstream implementation in South African law schools. Thus, although WIL is a possible answer to the call made to university faculties of law by the legal profession, certain obstacles would have be overcome before this solution could be of benefit to all.