Student midwives struggling to find jobs

Lucy Sheppard (left) and Aimee Peach say they worry about finding a job at the end of their course

Midwifery students have spoken out about the uncertainty they feel as they face a shortage of job openings.

According to a survey by the Royal College of Midwives, more than eight out of 10 students due to qualify this year were "not confident" they would find a job once graduating.

Aimee Peach, a student midwife from Somerset in her final year, said: "We're all finding it really difficult to secure positions. Last time we looked, there were five or so openings nationwide."

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said student nurses and midwives were "our future workforce" and it was "unacceptable" they could not find jobs.

Ms Peach, from North Petherton, said she decided to do a midwifery degree because she loved supporting families during a "really formative time in their lives".

"I really love watching those families blossom.

"I like to help parents make the right decisions by empowering them," she added.

However, when she started her studies she said she quickly realised it would be more difficult than expected.

'Juggling so much'

As part of the course, the students spend weeks working full-time in hospitals, while still paying for their degrees.

"It's unpaid hours. There is student finance which does help but it doesn't replace the loss of a wage. It's really difficult," Ms Peach said.

"I'm a responsible adult and have to contribute to the family household. We all have children and responsibilities, we're juggling so much to be here," she added.

Lucy Sheppard, a final-year student midwife from Nether Stowey in Somerset, had been working in maternity services and decided to take a midwifery course as she said it was suggested a job would be pretty much guaranteed.

But she said she was now accumulating thousands of pounds in student debt and struggling to find a job which would pay for it.

"If I knew this [when I started], I would have waited. But now it feels like I've done all this training, to then go back to something I was doing three years ago," Ms Sheppard said.

Fiona Gibb, director at The Royal College of Midwives, said a need for more midwives was "widely acknowledged" and there had been "a failure to align workforce planning to the much-needed increase".

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: "NHS England has set up a dedicated programme of work with employers, educators and trade unions to address this.

"We will revise the workforce plan later this year, to ensure the NHS has the right people in the right place, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need."