Nursing students 'facing unacceptable barriers' into work - with some forced to stack shelves amid jobs shortage
Nursing students and graduates are facing “unacceptable barriers” to join the workforce, with some left stacking shelves in supermarkets because they are unable to find posts, experts have warned.
Listen to this article
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said that there is a shortage of NHS roles in England for graduates which is “disheartening” to those who have racked up thousands of pounds of student debt.
Members of the Royal College of Nursing Students Committee said that a third (33%) of “Band 5” vacancies – the entry level pay band for registered nurses – advertised in July required experience that “blocked” new graduates from applying for them.
Just a quarter (26%) of jobs advertised in England were full time, permanent and open to applicants without professional experience, according to RCN analysis.
Last year the Government launched a “graduate guarantee” that in 2025 every newly qualified nurse and midwife in England would have the opportunity to apply to join the health and social care workforce.
Read More: Paul thinks the collapsing nurses need to 'stop bleating'
Read More: Nurses 'collapse at work' and forced to work in 30C temperatures as Britain bakes due to heatwaves
But despite this the Committee said that some graduates from 2024 still have not found roles.
With difficulties accessing positions, some have left the profession entirely while others have moved abroad to find work, nursing leaders said.
The College is calling for a plan to get nursing graduates in jobs, including plans to “end to the widespread inappropriate advertising and incorrect banding of jobs, for trusts to be properly funded to recruit enough staff to keep patients safe, and for workforce planning and university recruitment to be aligned”.
Patricia Marquis, executive director for RCN England, said: “Student nurses are the future of the workforce and patients need them in post.
“Services are being pummelled by record demand right now, yet the next generation is facing unacceptable barriers to joining our safety-critical profession.
“Non-existent workforce planning on a national level keeps the system in a boom-and-bust cycle of over-reliance on international recruitment, often from the Global South, followed by an inability to employ UK graduates, despite unsafe staffing levels.
“Students feel used: by a university system that saddles them with debt; by employers who lean on them during clinical placements but refuse to offer them work at the end of it.
“It’s insulting to a workforce that is so essential for the safe running of the health system and risks damaging the reputation of our profession by driving away the next generation of nurses.”
The RCN Student’s Committee has written to England’s chief nursing officer Duncan Burton calling for action.
The letter states: “Some of us have submitted upwards of 40 applications for a first post; some are relocating hundreds of miles to begin their careers; and some have given years to trusts that advertised a guaranteed job when their degrees began, only to be told that guarantee no longer holds. Some graduates from 2024 are still awaiting their first nursing job.
“We are seeing newly qualified nurses stacking supermarket shelves while holding a PIN; some are moving abroad; and others are leaving the profession altogether, before they have even begun.”
Duncan Burton, chief nursing officer for England, said: “I understand how upsetting and frustrating it is for newly-qualified nurses who may be feeling uncertain about securing their first role – no one who has dedicated themselves to becoming a nurse should be left wondering whether there is a place for them in the workforce.
“Recruitment to nursing roles is increasingly competitive in some parts of the country, but I want to reassure graduates that opportunities continue to exist and encourage them to think broadly about possibilities for their first post, including considering roles within community services, primary care, social care and the independent sector.
“We are continuing to work closely with employers, universities, and system partners to help connect newly qualified nurses with opportunities and support into fulfilling nursing careers.”