After three traumatic years at uni, I fear I won't get my dream nursing job

Ellie Atkins-Tate has battled arthritis, coped with the death of her beloved gran and welcomed her baby to the world while studying to become a nurse.

But so close to the finish line, she fears her dreams could be snatched away.

The third year student hopes to qualify in October, which should be "one of the proudest moments in my life".

Instead her hopes are overshadowed by the fear that after everything she has been through, there may not be a job in the Welsh NHS.

As many as half of all new nursing graduates could be left without work, the Royal College of Nursing Cymru said earlier this year, adding the lack of jobs represented "a serious failure of workforce planning".

"It's always been a dream of mine to be a nurse and it's really disheartening that this may not happen," said Ellie.

"I haven't overcome grief, illness, motherhood and personal hardship just to reach the finish line and find there is nowhere for me to go."

The 28-year-old from Cardiff lost her grandmother in her first year of university, was then diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis and also gave birth to her baby boy.

"Despite everything life has thrown at me... balancing sleepless nights, placement, assignments and raising a family, I have never given up on becoming the best nurse I can be," she added.

Her concerns come as nearly 150 nursing and midwifery graduates from last year's cohort remain without NHS jobs, according to Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW).

James Buchan, a specialist in health workforce policy, said there was a "reputational risk" to the NHS if prospective students no longer saw healthcare careers as a reliable route into employment.

Like many student nurses, Ellie has dedicated years of her life to fulfilling her dream.

"We complete thousands of hours of unpaid clinical placements, work long shifts, sacrifice our families and push ourselves emotionally and physically, because we believe in caring for others and supporting the NHS," she added.

Losing her grandmother was really hard as she was very close to her, but she was determined not to quit.

In her second year she described how "something in my body didn't feel right" and she "struggled", before being diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis - a long-term condition.

But she battled on.

She said it was "heartbreaking" watching students who had worked incredibly hard struggling to secure the opportunities they have spent years training for, and this made her apprehensive for her own future.

"I'm meant to finish in October so I have a little while before I am meant to be looking for a job, and I know things may change but I'm definitely starting to panic a bit," she added.

"I've already seen people not get jobs and leave to go into other industries."

In Wales, university places for healthcare-related courses are mapped out by the NHS' workforce organisation HEIW, which uses data from health boards to predict the staff needed in the future.

As it takes a number of years to train a healthcare worker, these forecasts are made years in advance.

HEIW said forecasts underpinning positions expected to be available this year were made during the Covid pandemic, when staff turnover was higher and the service was under exceptional pressure.

Since then, staff retention has improved, meaning fewer people have left the NHS and fewer vacancies have become available.

As a result, universities in Wales have paused certain courses for the 2026 to 2027 cohort.

In September 2025, Audit Wales also reported that NHS Wales had a three-year overspend of £481m.

Although health boards continue to report vacancies, many posts cannot currently be funded.

NHS workforce data recorded more than 5,600 full-time equivalent vacancies across Welsh health boards at the end of 2025.

Ellie said it wasn't just about her, it was about "an entire generation of newly-qualified nurses who want nothing more than to care for patients in Wales".

She added she would like the universities, health boards and the Welsh government to work together so newly-qualified nurses have a clearer pathway into employment and Wales can retain the professionals it has invested in training.

"We are being told the NHS needs nurses, yet many of us are left wondering whether we will even be able to begin the careers we have worked so hard to achieve," she added.

She is not alone, earlier this year Mia Edgeworth said it was an "uncertain time" for her and she fears people will be reluctant to consider nursing as a career, while another graduate said she felt disillusioned.

The Welsh government said: "We know how disappointing it is for this year's nursing graduates who haven't secured the roles they worked so hard for.

"We have asked HEIW to coordinate a national support offer, including a single point of access, so graduates remain supported and connected to emerging job opportunities."

It added that it was working with NHS Wales organisations, HEIW and system partners to maximise employment opportunities.

Alex Howells, chief executive of HEIW said they "understand how difficult the continuing uncertainty is for graduates as they prepare to begin their careers".

"Since June, NHS Wales organisations have identified just under 100 additional Band 5 nursing roles, meaning roles have been identified for around 92% of this year's nursing graduate cohort," she added.

The Royal College of Paramedics said it expected to see similar recruitment freezes across the UK later this year.

Earlier this year, the Royal College of Midwives said a survey of newly-qualified midwives across all four nations found about a third had not secured a permanent role.

The Department of Health and Social Care, has introduced a "Graduate Guarantee" for newly-qualified nurses and midwives in England, after concerns there were 4,000 more nursing and midwifery graduates than vacancies.

The Scottish government said it was developing an NHS job guarantee to all medicine, dentistry, nursing and other NHS profession graduates in Scotland.