Graduate midwives left jobless as Wales faces staffing crisis
The shortage comes as maternity services across Wales grapple with mounting pressure and staff deficits, prompting concerns that a generation of trained midwives could be lost.
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has launched a petition demanding that the Welsh Government fund posts for newly qualified midwives, after 63 graduates were left without work this year.
The shortage comes as maternity services across Wales grapple with mounting pressure and staff deficits, prompting concerns that a generation of trained midwives could be lost.
Graduate midwives in Wales have traditionally secured positions through the Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) streamlining process, but this year the number of available posts fell sharply.
Julie Richards, RCM Cymru Director, said: “We’ve got midwives in Wales, fully qualified and registered, who are ready to start their careers and care for women and babies but they’re being left on the sidelines with no jobs to go to.”
Richards added that the Welsh Government had invested in the education of these graduates but had failed to provide the employment they were promised.
“The Welsh Government has invested in educating these midwives but they’re not investing in employing them.” This is also about the safety of maternity care in Wales,” she continued.
She warned that staffing shortages were already compromising the quality of care and that “we need enough midwives on our wards and we need to make sure the next generation of midwives can actually enter the profession.”
The petition calls for immediate funding of graduate posts and urges the government to address the unsafe staffing pressures facing maternity units.
RCM Cymru has been gathering evidence from students throughout 2026, including surveys and direct submissions to the Senedd, to bolster its case.
Student members also attended a graduate summit where they met representatives from the Welsh Government, HEIW and health boards.
Megan Lewis, a First Class Honours graduate from Swansea, described the impact of the job shortfall on a personal level.
She said: “I’m not somebody who cries easily – but when I opened the email telling me I hadn’t got a job, I cried for hours.”
Lewis explained that she had imagined graduating as a moment of triumph, only to be left “wondering what on earth I was going to do next.”
She highlighted the rigour of midwifery training, noting “we completed 2,550 hours of clinical practice, balancing placements with university work and, for many of us, paid employment and family responsibilities.”
Lewis questioned the logic of the funding model, stating: “The Welsh Government funded my training, and I received an NHS bursary on the condition that I worked in Wales for two years after qualifying.” But how can you invest in educating midwives, ask them to commit to working in Wales, and then not provide the jobs for them to do that?”
She also pointed out that during her placements she had witnessed the strain on maternity wards, adding: “Midwives regularly told us how much they valued having students on shift because we were another pair of hands to help with care.”
“Of course, students aren’t a replacement for registered midwives but when you’ve seen how hard staff are working, how much they’re juggling and how desperately they’re trying to give every woman the time and care she deserves, it’s difficult to understand why there aren’t jobs for newly qualified midwives.”
The Welsh Government responded that it understood the frustration and anxiety caused by the situation.
A spokesperson said: “Health Education and Improvement Wales is working with Health Boards and NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership to identify suitable opportunities for remaining graduates.”
They added that a review of the specific barriers to midwifery recruitment was under way, with the aim of targeting efforts where they are needed most and accelerating progress.
RCM Cymru urged the public, families and students to add their voices to the petition, warning that the current impasse could jeopardise the safety of maternity care in Wales.
The union pledged to keep pressing until every newly qualified midwife in Wales has the opportunity to start a career in the NHS.
With 63 graduates currently unemployed, the petition highlights a growing disconnect between training investment and workforce planning in Welsh health services.
Stakeholders say the outcome will have implications not only for the graduates themselves but also for the quality and resilience of maternity care across the nation.