Attraction Subgroup
Attracting and inspiring Scotland’s future nursing and midwifery workforce.
The Attraction Subgroup is one of four implementation subgroups, driving delivery of the NMT Recommended Actions at pace. The focus is on inclusive pathways, strengthening retention, and showcasing nursing and midwifery as rewarding, long‑term careers.
Have a question or feedback?
If you have any questions about the information provided, or feedback on this website, please contact the Nursing and Midwifery Policy Team at the Scottish Government NMTenquiries@gov.scot.
Overview of the NMT Attraction Subgroup
The NMT Attraction Subgroup leads work to strengthen how Scotland attracts people into nursing and midwifery, focusing on developing inclusive education and career pathways, identifying and addressing barriers to entry, and championing the wide range of career opportunities across the professions.
It sets clear priorities and SMART goals to guide delivery, works collaboratively across policy, education and workforce partners, and feeds into national governance structures through regular reporting. Recent activity includes refining baseline data, progressing national labour‑market research, and supporting initiatives that expand accessible pathways into nursing and midwifery.
The Attraction Subgroup is co-chaired by Kathryn Brechin and Eileen McKenna, and will focus on the attraction and retention of the nursing and midwifery professions to support long-term workforce sustainability.
Their role is to oversee delivery, offer direction and ultimately enable implementation of transformative, future-proofed solutions to address the following NMT Recommended Actions.
“I am privileged to co‑chair the Attraction Subgroup and to support delivery of the Ministerial Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce’s Recommended Actions. This work is shaped by the voices of our staff and professions, and it will strengthen how we attract and retain people in nursing and midwifery, offering a valued, varied and fulfilling career.” Kathryn Brechin (Co-Chair)
“Nursing and midwifery are fantastic careers, full of possibilities. As Co-Chair of the Attraction Subgroup, I am committed to supporting the delivery of this important work, to ensure nursing and midwifery students have the support they need to complete their studies, to highlight the diverse range of opportunities nursing and midwifery careers present and, ultimately, to encourage more people to choose our professions.” Eileen McKenna (Co-Chair)
➡️ Find out more information about the Attraction Subgroup Co-Chairs.
Attraction Recommended Actions
Below you'll find an overview of the NMT Recommended Actions being progressed by the Attraction Subgroup.
| Number | Recommended Actions - Attraction Subgroup |
36 | The Scottish Government with relevant partners and stakeholders will build a sustainable nursing and midwifery workforce that supports and maximises existing pre and post registration programmes. Integral to this will be the development of sustainable alternative entry routes into nursing and midwifery including part-time routes, earn as you learn, apprenticeship models and fast track routes from relevant degree-educated pools. |
37 | The Scottish Government, with relevant partners and stakeholders, will develop new entry routes with dedicated funding available to support them. This should prioritise adding to, and not replacing, traditional undergraduate routes. |
38 | The Scottish Government, with relevant partners and stakeholder will ensure continued widening participation and ensure that the demographic of the future nursing and midwifery workforce mirrors the population and communities it serves. |
39 | Widening participation must therefore go beyond SIMD (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation), be diverse and inclusive and respond to remote and rural needs. |
40 | The Scottish Government will commission research and labour market analysis that identifies current dynamics and trends in levels of interest in nursing and midwifery careers, taking account of regional variations and any differences between fields of nursing and professions. This work will be used to identify how any future marketing activity should be shaped and targeted. |
41 | The Scottish Government will commission evidence based and evaluated career marketing activity that accurately represents and promotes the roles and range of career opportunities that reflect the key pillars of clinical practice, leadership, research and education to attract and retain a diverse range of talent in nursing and midwifery. |
42 | The Scottish Government will work with relevant partners and stakeholders to ensure nurses and midwives are supported and encouraged to share their passion for their role and career with others, to support attraction and retention, based on their own experience of the challenges and opportunities. |
43 | The Scottish Government will work with relevant partners and stakeholders to ensure the consistent, sustainable provision of a range of taster schemes across health and social care that enable people from various backgrounds to experience nursing and midwifery; and, on completion, participants are guided and supported to access careers in health and social care. |
44 | The Scottish Government will identify the barriers and enablers to attracting a diverse range of suitable candidates and develop a costed action plan to address barriers. This would include a review of the package of student financial support to ensure that nursing and midwifery students receive the right support to complete their studies. |
Attraction Subgroup Membership
Membership of the Attraction Subgroup includes representation from the below stakeholders:
Area Nursing and Midwifery Committees
Higher Education Institutes
Highlights
The Attraction Subgroup had its first meeting on 31st October 2025. The subgroup has a broad membership with representation across a range of organisations and sectors. We meet monthly to maintain momentum, engagement, and ensure steady progress, giving this work the professional priority it requires.
The primary focus to date has been on agreeing the baseline measures and measures of success for the nine Recommended Actions (RAs) within this subgroup’s remit (RA 36-44) including progressing Tests of Change (ToC) for pathways into nursing and midwifery professions.
Workshops with the Co‑Chairs and the Nursing & Midwifery Policy Team have begun to identify existing data sources to provide a qualitative and quantitative baseline and outcome data to demonstrate impact and progress.
Going forward, the subgroup will concentrate on finalising a comprehensive set of high-level actions for all RAs, addressing any identified gaps, confirming ownership, agreeing key milestones, and developing delivery plans. This will include determining whether short‑life working groups are required to support implementation.
Explore the Taskforce Website
