The British government has granted degree-awarding powers to the College of Law, making it the first private higher education institution to receive such status. The college, specialized in English and Welsh law, aims at professional training and liberalization of trade in legal services in a global training market. Students moving into the graduate diploma in law would be awarded a degree following their vocational qualification which would widen the talent pool to the legal services market. However, critics are concerned that this initiative would encourage private institutions to see themselves as processing stations where teaching and feeding the market with legal workforces are priorities as opposed to building legal knowledge through critical thinking and interpretation.