We are nursing students across Wales who were encouraged to train here on the clear expectation that, on completion of our studies, we would be able to take up employment within NHS Wales.

We have committed years of our lives to this profession completing over 2,300 hours of training, often while balancing family responsibilities, financial pressures, and time away from those we care about. We chose Wales not only to train, but to build our futures here and to care for our communities.

Now as we approach graduation, we are facing a deeply uncertain and distressing reality that is having a real and immediate impact.

We now face graduating under the threat of uncertainty for our future in Wales. Our commitment to Welsh NHS and Welsh communities is being ignored as we still do not have confirmed jobs. There is a lack of clarity on whether there are or will be roles within NHS Wales or where roles may be located. Decisions about our futures are being made without meaningful student involvement and the future of nursing in Wales is uncertain.

Students are experiencing significant anxiety, sleepless nights, and uncertainty about how they will support themselves and their families. Many are now facing the prospect of being forced to move across Wales, away from their support networks, childcare arrangements, and communities simply to find work.

For some, leaving Wales altogether is becoming a real possibility. This raises further unanswered questions, including what happens to bursary commitments if employment cannot be secured within Wales.

This situation risks losing a generation of newly qualified nurses from Wales altogether.

A failure to recruit and retain newly qualified nurses has direct consequences for patient care and long-term workforce planning. Understaffing contributes to unsafe environments, including corridor care, and undermines the long-term sustainability of the NHS in Wales. In a nation with a rural population and increasing care needs, losing newly trained nurses is not only short-sighted, it is unsustainable.

At the same time, we are seeing continued reliance on agency staffing. The RCN Wales Nursing in Numbers 2025 publication noted that 88.7 million was spent on temporary agency staff in NHS Wales in 2024–25. We are also seeing job advertisements requiring experience for Band 5 roles, alongside a lack of opportunities for newly qualified nurses, and ongoing confusion around recruitment practices at Band 7 level.

As students, we are scared for our futures and the lack of communication from decision makers is, unfortunately, turning our fear into anger. We have trained to care for others, yet we feel uncared for in return.

We want to stay. We want to work in Wales. We want to contribute to safe, compassionate, and high-quality care in our communities.

We are therefore calling for immediate action:

• Honest communication about the current and projected job market, including confirmed vacancy numbers, and a published and realistic timeline for the 2026 streamlining process
• Clarity on how placement and job allocation decisions will be made
• Immediate engagement with student representatives as part of decision-making processes
• Clear guidance on bursary implications where students are unable to secure roles within Wales
• A review of recruitment practices to ensure newly qualified nurses are not being excluded from Band 5 opportunities
• A clear and transparent national workforce plan for newly qualified nurses

We are asking for transparency, fairness, and the opportunity to plan our futures – these are reasonable requests. We urge you to recognise the urgency of this situation and open direct communication channels with student representatives, and to act now not only in the interests of student nurses, but in the interests of the future of NHS Wales and the communities it serves.

We are ready to work with you to find solutions.

Signed,

Nursing students across Wales