Members of the Royal College of Midwives’ (RCM) Student Midwife Forum have written to the newly appointed Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, James Murray, requesting an urgent meeting to discuss the graduate job shortage.
In the letter, student representatives urged the Health Secretary to make tackling the shortage of jobs for newly qualified midwives (NQMs) an early priority.
They warned that too many NQMs are completing their training without being able to secure a permanent NHS role, despite ongoing workforce pressures across maternity services.
Heather Bower, Head of Education at the RCM, said: “We back our Student Midwife Forum, and every student midwife in the UK, every step of the way. Student midwives dedicate years to their education because they want to care for women, babies and families. It’s deeply concerning that so many NQMs are reaching registration without a clear route into employment.
“The students have requested this urgent meeting with the Health Secretary to discuss their experiences directly and to ensure the voices of student midwives are heard, as decisions are made about the future maternity workforce.
“We need a genuine Graduate Guarantee that gives every NQM confidence that there will be a substantive NHS role available when they qualify. Without that certainty, we risk losing talented and skilled professionals before they even begin their careers.”
The letter highlights recent RCM survey findings which found that 31% of NQMs had been unable to secure an NHS post six months after qualifying. Among those actively seeking work, 61% were not employed at all, with some leaving the profession altogether.
In their letter, the Student Midwife Forum calls for all NQMs to be offered a substantive Band 5 NHS post within six months of graduation. They also urge the Government to back this commitment with long-term funding and workforce planning that aligns university places, graduate employment opportunities and maternity service need.
The RCM says the temporary ‘Graduate Guarantee’, which the Government announced in August last year, has failed to provide the certainty students were promised, arguing that it has relied largely on existing maternity support worker vacancies being rebanded into part-time, temporary Band 5 positions rather than creating additional capacity in maternity services. Funding was only available for one year, so this year’s graduates are back to square one.
The RCM has repeatedly called for a genuine Graduate Guarantee and continues to campaign for sustainable workforce planning, to ensure every NQM has the opportunity to begin their career as a midwife in the NHS.
