R3 New Professional Survey 2025

11 June 2025

With recruitment and retention frequently noted as one of the key challenges for R3 member firms, earlier in the year, as part of their preparation for the Southern Forum, the Southern and Thames Valley New Professionals approached R3 with a proposed survey of the New Professional membership. We worked with the committee, and the New Professionals Steering Group, to develop and launch the survey which ran nationally throughout March. This blog overviews some of the findings.

The survey received 98 responses from members from across the profession. A summary of who the survey respondents are is below:

Length of time working in restructuring, turnaround and insolvency

83% - 0-5 years (52% 0 – 2 years)

Age

91% 35 and under (78% 30 or under)

Regions

26% from London and South East; all R3 regions represented except Northern Ireland.

Area of work 

63% working for restructuring, turnaround or insolvency practice; 29% for solicitor or barrister.

Size of firm

51% from firms with 50+ employees (82% from firms with 10+ employees) 

Gender

53% women; 47% men

Education on entering the profession

74% have bachelors or masters degree; 22% A levels or equivalent

Professional qualifications study

83% are studying or have studied for professional qualifications (most common – 29% - ACA / ACCA; 26% LPC or SQE (Solicitors qualifying exam)

Routes into profession

31% Graduate scheme; 20% apprenticeship

Summary findings from the survey include:

• Support – 82% agreed or strongly agreed that they received appropriate support from partners / managers to meet the requirements of their role. Only 5% of respondents did not agree with this. 
• Training – 70% of respondents agreed or  strongly agreed that they received appropriate  internal training for their role, whilst this number fell to 64% for external training.
• Career pathway – 78% agreed that they had a clear path and progression within their chosen field but only 28% were involved in their team’s discussion around succession planning.
• Events – 85% said that making new connections with colleagues was most important when attending an event, with just under 60% also noting soft skills and technical learning opportunities.

Positive career experiences and career challenges

The survey also asked respondents to give feedback on their top three positive career experiences and their top three career challenges.

Top three career highlights

Career Development & Progression

·         Gaining autonomy and responsibility in casework

·         Completing professional qualifications

·         Promotions, career advancement and leadership opportunities

Networking & Industry Recognition

·         Receiving positive feedback

·         Building professional connections and relationships

·         Attending networking events and industry conferences

Interesting & Impactful work

·         Variety of work and exposure to different aspects of insolvency

·         Working on complex, high-profile cases

·         Helping clients and securing positive outcomes

Top three career challenges

Industry-specific challenges

·         Regulatory complexities and compliance burdens

·         Difficult clients, creditors and case challenges

·         Need for stronger professional networks and industry inclusivity

Career progression and firm support

·         Limited support from management and supervisors

·         Difficulty gaining relevant skills

·         Limited support from management and supervisors

Workload and Work-Life balance

·         Balancing work and study

·         Demanding and competing deadlines

·         High caseload; need to do BD; work / life balance

Conclusions

The New Professional respondents to the survey are eager to learn and progress their careers and are positive about the work of the profession.

The survey also identified opportunities for firms to:

·         Create clear pathways and milestones for progression

·         Support training and development towards career progression

·         Enhance development of both technical and soft skills

·         Support development of peer group and wider networks for early career stage team members 

·         Support time for work / study balance for those taking professional exams

Thank you to the R3 Southern & Thames Valley sub-committee and members of the R3 New Professional Steering Group for their involvement in this project. At R3, we will continue to seek the views of those in the early stages of their career to represent New Professional views across all areas of R3.

Join an R3 committee

If you are interested in representing the perspective of new professional members, consider joining an R3 regional committee or the R3 New Professional Steering Group.