More than 250 additional nursing graduates have secured posts across NHS Wales since June, following a coordinated effort between health boards, universities and national healthcare organisations to tackle concerns around graduate employment.
The progress comes after a graduate summit convened by Mabon ap Gwynfor, Wales’ Health and Care Minister, earlier this year. The summit brought together key stakeholders including Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW), NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP), health boards, universities and the Welsh Government to address challenges faced by newly qualified nurses seeking employment.
A key factor behind the improved outcomes has been the introduction of an additional allocation phase, designed to connect nursing graduates with available vacancies more effectively. In addition, a further 28 graduates have either secured employment through alternative routes or are not currently available for work.
Officials have confirmed there are sufficient nursing vacancies available across NHS Wales to accommodate the remaining unallocated graduates. Work continues on an individual basis to ensure graduates are matched with suitable opportunities.
The collaborative approach has also delivered positive results across Welsh universities, helping to retain newly qualified nurses within the NHS Wales workforce. HEIW has led the all-Wales response, coordinating efforts across healthcare providers and educational institutions.
The experience gained from supporting the 2026 graduate cohort will now inform future workforce planning, education commissioning and service delivery requirements, with the aim of aligning training places more closely to NHS demand.
Welsh Health and Care Minister, Mabon ap Gwynfor, said:
“I’m really pleased to be meeting some of the nursing graduates in Aberystwyth who are now embarking on their careers with NHS Wales.
“It is great that all nursing graduates from Aberystwyth and Bangor universities have now secured employment, but this progress extends much more widely across Wales. Universities, health boards, HEIW, NWSSP and the Welsh Government have worked collectively to support graduates into posts, and there has been a significant improvement in the position across the sector since the graduate summit.
“I fully recognise how worrying the situation has been for newly qualified healthcare professionals waiting to start their careers. The progress we've made since the graduate summit shows what can be achieved, but there is still much work to be done, especially for midwifery graduates, and we remain committed to helping graduates into employment and retaining their skills within NHS Wales.”
Despite the significant progress made for nursing graduates, the Minister acknowledged that further work is needed to support midwifery graduates into permanent employment opportunities across Wales.
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