Nursing students facing unemployment protest at RCN Congress

Student nurses from across the UK have come together to protest a lack of employment opportunities in the NHS.

A gathering at this year’s Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Congress saw nursing students describe the ‘tragedy’ of not being able to secure a job on registration.

Despite thousands of nursing vacancies in the NHS, the RCN said insufficient funding for employers, poor workforce planning and inappropriate job banding were to blame for a shortage of roles in England.

It suggested some NHS trusts have frozen recruitment while others are advertising entry-level Band 5 positions as requiring ‘inappropriate qualifications’ or years of experience.

Lorraine Greathead, a student nurse from the North West, said in her cohort of 50 students, 28 qualified without nursing jobs.

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‘Student nurses are putting tens of thousands of pounds into their degrees that they will be paying back for the rest of their lives,’ she said.

‘Yet even when they qualify, many won’t get the chance to get into their blue uniform and start caring for patients. It’s unacceptable and it’s a tragedy.’

She added: ‘When you’re on clinical placement, a patient will hold your hand and tell you you’re going to be an amazing nurse. And it’s so disheartening because you don’t know if you’re going to get there.’

Joshua Parker-Walsh, RCN Student Committee chair, added: ‘The government needs to invest in us.

‘The jobs aren’t there for newly registered nurses, yet the NHS is chronically understaffed.

‘Even the Band 5 jobs that are there are advertised as requiring a year or more post-graduation experience. Where are we supposed to go?’

The protest also follows figures from Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) this month, which revealed a third of new nursing graduates have yet to secure a job.

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RCN chief nursing officer, Professor Lynn Woolsey described the situation as ‘absurd’.

‘Nursing students work tirelessly to get through their degrees and all they want is to start caring for patients.

‘They are telling us how much it stings to face unemployment after years of so much hard work and they are absolutely right to demand change.’

In a debate at RCN congress earlier this week, nurses also debated issues related to placement opportunities for nursing students, including barriers to those in primary and community care settings.

There has also been calls for action to ‘protect nurse education’ – particularly nursing lecturer posts – amid concerns over financial pressures facing the sector.

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In March, a group of nursing students launched a campaign for paid clinical placements.

Meanwhile, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is currently consulting on proposed changes to nursing and midwifery education standards, including plans to reduce nursing programme hours.