Thousands of new jobs will be unlocked across healthcare as the government launches a ‘graduate guarantee’ to ensure there are enough jobs for every newly qualified nurse and midwife in England.
The initiative will ensure thousands of new posts are easier to access by removing barriers for NHS trusts, ensuring a seamless transition from training to employment through hiring on projected need, rather than formal vacancies.
As record numbers chose to study nursing during the pandemic, while fewer nurses and midwives leave the profession, the new measures aim to tackle graduates’ concerns about job availability
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Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting said: “It is absurd that we are training thousands of nurses and midwives every year, only to leave them without a job before their career has started.
“No one who dedicates themselves to a nursing or midwifery career should be left in limbo, when their skills are so urgently needed in the effort to rebuild our NHS.”
In some areas of England, there are three times as many graduates as there are vacancies.
The government has committed to a comprehensive package of reform and support, which will see more healthcare professionals deployed across a wide variety of sectors. It has worked together with the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to develop the initiative.
NHS providers will begin recruiting newly qualified nurses and midwives before vacancies formally arise, with trusts supported to employ staff based on projected need rather than headcount, ensuring the NHS has the right number of staff.
Additionally, every newly qualified nurse and midwife will receive the backing they need to succeed in their first role, which includes an online hub with important information and advice for those applying for roles.
Vacant maternity support worker (MSW) posts will be temporarily converted to Band 5 midwifery roles, backed by £8 million to create new opportunities specifically for newly qualified midwives and further ease the recruitment strain.
Gill Walton, chief executive of the RCM, said: “We’re pleased that the government has listened to the voices of student midwives who are desperate to start their career, only to find those opportunities blocked. I know today’s announcement will come as a relief to so many of the RCM’s student midwife members.”
However, the RCM warned that the graduate guarantee is a temporary patch on a broken system. Rather than funding new posts, this scheme relies on using vacancies for MSWs and providing “top-up” funding to trusts. The RCM has sought reassurances from NHS England that MSW posts will be reopened as newly-qualified midwives take up other vacancies.
Chief nursing officer for England, Duncan Burton, said: “Having been a student nurse, I know how important it is to feel supported, valued, and able to get on with the job you have trained so hard to do.
“Every nurse and midwife deserves the guarantee of a job to apply for when they graduate, so we’re unlocking more opportunities right across health and care and providing refreshed online advice and support with applications to help ensure a smooth transition into employment.
“We have more nurses and midwives than ever before choosing to stay working in the NHS, which is fantastic for patients, but we must ensure our newest graduates get the same opportunity to put their skills and passion to use without frustrating delays.”
RCN general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “When the health service urgently needs nursing staff, it was absurd to leave people in limbo. The test of this will be if students can find jobs, vacant posts are filled, and patients receive the care they deserve.
“Ministers have to continue listening to nursing staff who are crying out to have their critical work valued; today’s action takes us all a little closer.”
The RCN added that NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care must set out clear plans for monitoring to ensure that this pledge is upheld.
Paul Rees, chief executive and registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), said: “A guaranteed opportunity for a role after years of hard work in education is excellent news for future nursing and midwifery graduates. It means highly trained professionals can move into roles more quickly, utilising their skills and knowledge for the benefit of patients and communities.
“This is critically important at a time of rising demand for health and social care. We will continue working to place all new graduates on our register quickly and safely, so they can begin their roles at the earliest opportunity.”
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