Despair for student paramedics as vacancies drop

Student paramedics have expressed their frustration after being told that about half of them will not be able to find jobs in the UK when they qualify.

The Royal College of Paramedics (RCOP) said up to 50% of about 2,400 new paramedic registrants this year may not progress into professional roles when they finish their university education.

Speaking on condition of anonymity one student paramedic told the BBC that trying to find work after their degree had been "awful".

One ambulance service told the BBC it recognised there was an oversupply of graduates, while the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said this year had seen "record numbers of ambulance staff".

In a news bulletin to student paramedics, the RCOP wrote "job opportunities for new registrants remain at a mismatch with the number of graduates now entering the system".

It described what it called "employment challenges", and said it anticipated "a sizeable reduction in ambulance-sector vacancies across the UK".

To practise as a paramedic, most students need to successfully complete an approved degree in paramedic science or via an apprenticeship degree with an ambulance trust.

One student paramedic who wished to remain anonymous told the BBC: "We have all chosen the university route over a paid internal apprenticeship route as we were told that the job opportunities would be equal.

"However when we graduate we will be left with limited job openings, and we will be in a lot of debt.

"If I had known when applying to the degree this would be the outcome, I would have strongly considered the apprenticeship route."

Another university student said it was striking how rapidly the situation appeared to have changed.

"When many current students began their degrees, paramedic recruitment was extremely strong and students were routinely given the impression that employment after qualification would be readily available," they said.

"Three years later we are qualifying into a very different market, and further cohorts continue to enter training."

In a statement Kirsty Lowery-Richardson, head of education for the RCOP, said: "This is not a simple problem, nor does it sit with any single organisation.

"It reflects the complex and dynamic interaction of higher education policy, professional regulation, workforce planning, NHS finance, practise education capacity, student recruitment and labour market change.

"As such, the College is actively engaged with stakeholders including Higher Education Institutes, employers, NHS organisations, government departments and regulatory bodies to coordinate a UK-wide response to tackle this issue and promote safe transition to practice."

A South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) spokesperson said it recognised recruitment of newly-qualified paramedics (NQPs) was a "sensitive and challenging issue".

They added while training places have expanded, entry-level jobs have not kept pace, creating an oversupply of graduates.

Secamb said there were nearly 42,000 registered paramedics in the UK, including about 2,500 graduates in 2025.

The trust said ambulance services were recruiting fewer NQPs than in previous years and, because more staff were choosing to stay, it currently had "no paramedic vacancies available".

A spokesperson for the DHSC said: "Student paramedics work incredibly hard to gain life-saving skills, and we want those who qualify to begin caring for patients as soon as possible.

"This year has seen record numbers of NHS ambulance staff, including paramedics."

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