Survey Shows Irish Nursing Grads Have Dire Job Prospects After College
When most people go to college, they're doing it to get a leg up in their chosen career - ya know, 'cause you basically can't enter fields like accounting or nursing without a degree. So when studies like this one come along, it's very disheartening. According to a survey by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), Irish nursing graduate jobs are almost non-existent.
Just 29.8% of final year nursing students are offered contracts by the HSE, and of those, only 16.25% go on to get permanent contracts. As for the rest? They're forced to either go private or move overseas.
It's a really shite situation when you think about how many nursing graduates there are in Ireland, and the crazy hospital waiting times across the country.
The survey also showed that 78% of nursing students are thinking about leaving Ireland when they graduate because the job situation is so bad.
The INMO survey of all nursing and midwifery internship students (there's around 1,500 on 36 week placement) looked at where this group from 2017 would seek employment after September 2017.
Other findings of the survey were:
- 78.10%, the majority of whom are 23 years or under, are considering emigrating upon qualification;
- 70.20% of respondents had been approached by overseas recruitment agencies before April 2017
- 71.56% of respondents had not been offered a permanent position by their current employer
INMO President, Martina Harkin-Kelly said:
“The results of this survey have clearly put into perspective the on-going [nursing] crisis ... in this country. It highlights the significant need to improve the current incentives being offered in the public health service and the need to offer full-time permanent posts to current interns much earlier in their 4th year.
Liam Conway, INMO Student and New Graduate Officer said:
“Students were very honest and truthful in this survey. The testimonials they gave and the replies to the survey should be a wakeup call to the HSE. They have a unique opportunity, which is not available to overseas recruiters, yet they continue each year to leave it too late to recruit, and then engage in a process which is not efficient or encouraging to graduating Irish nurses and midwives.”
Awful stuff. Are you a nursing graduate or are you in your final year? Tell us about your worries and concerns.