solicitor has to complete a Professional Skills Course. Chartered Legal Executives (formerly known as Fellows of CILEx) undertake a series of training courses and are required to pass qualifications relevant to the area of practice in which they intend to specialise. The first stage for the full vocational route to qualifying is called the CILEx Level 3 Professional Diploma in Law and Practice and is set at the equivalent to A-level law. The second and final qualifications are equivalent to an honours degree course - the CILEx Level 6 Diploma in Law and Practice. Trainees will often work at the same time as studying in order to acquire practical skills. The courses can be undertaken at a college, university or through an open learning programme. The courses are open to graduates and non-graduates. Chartered Legal Executives qualify after completing their CILEX training followed by a minimum of three years' qualifying employment. Chartered Legal Executives may do a wide range of legal work although, like solicitors, they generally specialise in one area. After completing their academic training, trainee Legal Executives often occupy paralegal roles to satisfy the three-year vocational stage of qualifying as Chartered Legal Executives. In September 2021, the Solicitors Regulation Authority introduced the Solicitor Qualifying Examination (SQE). If a potential solicitor does not qualify under the transitional agreements with the Legal Practice Course, he must follow the SQE admission requirements: possess a degree (in any subject) pass both phases of SQE assessment: SQE1 (functioning legal knowledge) and SQE2 (practical legal skills) complete two years of qualifying work experience satisfy the Solicitors Regulation Authority character requirements. Qualified lawyers already admitted in the UK or another jurisdiction have a simplified path to admission as a solicitor in England and Wales. They do not require qualified working experience and can apply for exemptions to SQE exams. Northern Ireland Northern Irish barristers are members of the Bar of Northern Ireland. The Bar of Northern Ireland and the General Council of the Bar of Northern Ireland are governed by the Constitution adopted on the 5 October 1983. Scotland In Scotland, a lawyer normally studies for an LL.B. in Scots law; as an undergraduate first degree this takes three years for an ordinary degree or four years as an honours degree. The LL.B. can be taken as a graduate entry degree which takes two years. The process of admission to practice law then depends on