WALES — Paramedic Science courses at Swansea University and Wrexham University will be paused from September because of insufficient job availability for new graduates. The decision was made by Health Education and Improvement Wales, the Welsh government and the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust.

The decision aims to reduce competition for vacancies over the next few years and improve employment opportunities for graduates, according to Health Education and Improvement Wales. The Welsh and UK governments are working with universities, health boards and graduates to facilitate graduate employment in healthcare.

"Recruitment of paramedics will be extremely limited this year, reflecting a wider UK trend," the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust said.

The pause follows concerns about employment prospects in other healthcare disciplines. Earlier this month, the Royal College of Nursing Cymru said as many as half of all new nursing graduates could be left without work. "The lack of jobs represents a serious failure of workforce planning," the college said.

Graduates have been encouraged to apply for Band 3 and 4 positions, which do not require a degree, but these jobs are also scarce. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy said recruitment freezes, deleted posts and unfilled vacancies are widespread in services across the UK and that the situation is continually worsening. More than 80% of the society's members believe staffing levels are insufficient to meet patient needs, and many have seen colleagues leave because of increasing workloads, the society said.

Emma Coomer, a nursing student at the University of South Wales, left a full-time job at a GP practice with a good wage and regular hours to study for her degree. "I gave that up because I wanted to be a nurse, but juggling shifts and weekends, missing things with the children has been hard," Coomer said. "We were told not to panic. It will turn a lot of people away from nursing. So the NHS will be in an even worse state than it is now," she said.