Half of nursing grads face unemployment, union warns

A shortage of jobs means as many as half of all new nursing graduates could be left without work, the Royal College of Nursing Cymru has said.

Barely a week ago it was revealed newly qualified paramedics were being advised to look for work abroad because of a recruitment freeze.

One trainee said she had been left feeling "completely in the dark" while another said she had worked thousands of hours for nothing.

The Welsh government said it was committed to ensuring investment in NHS training was matched by "meaningful" employment opportunities.

Layla Cahill-Harris from Bridgend, a student in her final year on the Cardiff University nursing course, said the situation was "heartbreaking".

"[This is] the main topic in our groupchat – everyone is shocked to be honest," she told Dros Frecwast.

"We have worked 2,300 hours for nothing and we have come to the end waiting for a job and just a day before we start applying to the jobs they say there are not enough."

Due to the health service bursary rules, she said some students must stay within Wales for two years to repay it.

Trainee midwife Sophie Dodd, 31, added: "It's the uncertainty, we all feel very stressed.

"We all feel really passionate about being midwives and we know how much we are needed, but now we don't know what is going to happen."

The mother-of-two began her midwifery degree at Swansea University three years ago.

She juggled studying with looking after her two boys, aged six and four, with partner James.

The family had expected Dodd, from Treorchy, Rhondda Cynon Taf, to go straight into a job.

"It's been a very tough couple of days. We feel very let down. We're completely in the dark," she said.

She added she was worried about finding herself in competition for work with others from her university and that ad hoc shifts can be tricky to come by.

Increasingly complex pregnancies and births required midwives with the most up to date skills to support women and babies, she said.

"We've been on the shop floor, we know how stretched midwives are and how much we are needed," said Dodd.

RCN Cymru said: "Up to half of all nursing graduates in Wales may be left without a job when recruitment finally opens.

"This comes as NHS services across Wales remain under extreme pressure, with patients regularly cared for in crowded, unsafe environments.

"Staff continue to report unmanageable workloads and a system struggling to meet even basic levels of demand.

"Against this backdrop, the idea that Wales cannot offer jobs to newly qualified nurses is nothing short of alarming.

"These graduates are desperately needed in clinical areas that are already stretched beyond safe limits.

"Losing them risks further destabilising services, increasing pressure on already exhausted staff, and worsening patient outcomes."

Dubbing the situation "indefensible", it said the lack of jobs represented "a serious failure of workforce planning".

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Cymru's director Julie Richards, said: "Newly qualified midwives are a vital part of the workforce – they are skilled, committed and ready to provide high-quality care to women, babies and families.

"The prospect of them being unable to find employment is both troubling and of great concern."

The Welsh government said: "We are committed to ensuring that our significant investment in NHS education and training is matched by meaningful employment opportunities, and we do not underestimate the impact on individuals or on services if newly qualified nurses are unable to secure posts.

"We are working closely with Health Boards, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) and universities to address these challenges and support graduates."

Plaid Cymru said: "The fact that there is a lack of available jobs for new nurses only further highlights Labour's serious failure to invest in and forward plan for the NHS workforce."

The Welsh Liberal Democrats said: "After years of mismanagement, we now have the absurd situation where newly qualified nurses are left without jobs while patients are treated in corridors and staff are pushed to breaking point."

The Welsh Conservatives said: "It is completely unacceptable that newly qualified nurses could be left without jobs at a time when our NHS is under such intense pressure."

Reform UK Wales dubbed the situation "unacceptable" adding: "A lack of proper workforce planning by the Plaid-backed Welsh Labour government is making a mockery of taxpayers."

The Wales Green Party called Labour's leadership of the NHS a "shambles" and said there was "no clear long-term workforce plan to match needs now and in the future."