Sharp Drop In International Recruitment Slows Overall Growth Of UK Register
The number of nurses, midwives and nursing associates who can practise in the UK has risen to a record 860,801 but growth of the workforce has slowed significantly – with new data from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) showing a sharp fall in international recruitment.
As of 30 September, the NMC Register includes 793,694 nurses and 13,433 nursing associates. There are 6,193 dual registrants who are both a nurse and a midwife. There is a record 96,593 nursing and midwifery professionals who identify as men.
There ha, however, been a sharp fall in the number of internationally educated professionals joining the Register for the first time.
In the six months to 30 September, 6,321 international professionals joined. That’s a 49.6% drop compared to the 12,534 international joiners between April and September 2024. It is also the lowest six-monthly intake of new international professionals for five years.
This changes the overall balance of recruitment to the Register. During the April to September periods from 2021 to 2024, there was an even or near-even split of UK and international recruitment to the Register – with the proportion of international joiners always ranging from 45.7–50%.
From April to September this year, only 31.1% of joiners were from outside the UK.
Factors behind this may include changes for professionals on the Health and Care Worker visa.
There has also been greater emphasis on domestic recruitment in England under the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.
Additionally, analysis by the Health Foundation last year highlighted better earnings potential in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the US.
Despite the slowdown in recruitment from countries such as India, the Philippines and Nigeria – major sources of recruitment to the UK workforce in recent years – the NMC Register has continued to become more ethnically diverse.
Paul Rees MBE, NMC Chief Executive and Registrar, said:
“The high-growth era of international recruitment appears to be ending. At the same time, domestic recruitment is steady. The resulting impact is that overall growth of the UK’s nursing and midwifery workforce has slowed sharply.
“Nonetheless, there are now more nurses, midwives and nursing associates on the Register than ever – and we regulate one in 50 working-age people in the UK. The Register has also continued to become more ethnically diverse. A third of nursing and midwifery professionals are now Black, Asian or minority ethnic.
“However, these professionals are often held back by their experiences of racism and other forms of discrimination that sadly persist in society. Some of our registrants see the situation as being worse now than at any time in the last 30 years, suggesting we have reached a crisis point.
“The whole health sector must do more to confront racism wherever it occurs, so that every nurse, midwife and nursing associate can feel safe, valued and able to deliver the high-quality care that we will all rely on at some point in our lives.”
