A ‘Graduate Guarantee’ scheme will allow NHS providers to recruit newly qualified nurses before vacancies formally arise, the government has said.
Earlier this summer, the government responded to pressure regarding job freezes and a risk of graduate nurses not having access to posts despite a shortage of staff by promoting the “Graduate Guarantee” scheme.
This scheme aims to allow newly qualified nurses to apply for vacancies before they formally arise by creating a regional vacancy pooling system, which the government hoped would ensure a “seamless transition from training to employment”.
Pooling vacancies
By allowing hospitals to pool their vacancies and recruit from the incoming students about to graduate, sharing recruitment costs and getting ahead of their expected needs, the number of applications graduates need to submit would be reduced, as would competition.
Students would also know where their first job will be in advance of graduating – potentially giving them longer to prepare to support a move.
When launching the scheme, the government said they planned to support it with a commitment to funding to create roles and access for newly qualified nurses and midwives to an online hub with information and advice for those applying for roles.
The SoR is watching the programme carefully and will be liaising with nursing unions and the Royal College of Midwives to learn how it has worked and if such a scheme can be extended for shortage professions, such as radiography.
'Could be hugely positive'
SoR executive director Dean Rogers said: “Such a scheme is interesting and in theory could be hugely positive for students and new professionals. Hospitals should know fairly accurately at least the minimum number of new radiographers and other AHPs they’ll need a long way in advance if they are working to a workforce plan and have identified things like planned retirements etc.
“A system like this, backed with resources from the government can help reduce competition between local employers and encourage everyone to get ahead of the game – whatever else is happening locally. This year we’ve seen numerous Trusts having a recruitment freeze when they have long-standing identified vacancies because of short term budget pressures.”
However, Dean added: “In practice there are still a lot of potential risks on all sides. With each Trust acting as a separate employer in competition with neighbours there is a need for local co-ordination and higher levels of cooperation between different employers than the NHS is used to or designed for."
'Evident structural risks'
He continued: “The current freeze is a result largely of a breakdown in what regional co-ordination there is as a consequence of the government imposing cuts on Integrated Care Board budgets mid year. The greatest risk would be someone being offered a contract and then it being terminated before they started work because a Trust didn’t have the budget or too many were guaranteed contracts in one place.
“We don’t want to be cynical and we know there is historical precedent for this kind of pooling system in other areas of the public sector – for example, this used to happen in schools. However, what stopped it in schools was the proliferation of academies, a loss of local authority co-ordination and competition.
“For any model to work in health it has to navigate these evident structural risks. We’d be willing to help the government and employers find a safe way through the risks if they are willing to dive deeper than the soundbites and work in partnership with us. Our students, new professionals and patients deserve better so it's worth trying to make it work.”
(Image: Attendees at the SoR student conference, by Eva Slusarek)