jobfacts

Midwife

Midwifery nurses — SOC 2020 2231

Midwifery nurses deliver, or assist in the delivery of babies, provide antenatal and postnatal care and advise parents on baby care. They work with other healthcare professionals and advise on and teach midwifery practice.

Also calledMidwifery managerMidwife managerRegistered midwifeMidwife-tutorMidwifery sisterTeam leaderand 3 more titles
Typical full-time pay£47,0002025 Provisional
People in the job43,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month237↓ 35%on last year · 333rd of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time midwives earn between £42,100 and £53,600 a year.

What full-time midwives earn, 2025
£47,000 typical£36,500lowest 10%£42,10025%£53,60075%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£42,100–£53,600)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£36,500
Lowest 20% earn less than£41,100
25%£42,100
Median£47,000
75%£53,600
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £47,000
London£50,800
Wales!£49,900
Yorkshire and The Humber!£47,100
Scotland!£47,000
North West!£46,200
East of England!£44,700
South East!£43,700
West Midlands!£42,200
South West!£38,100
East Midlands!£33,300
North EastNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £47,000
London£50,800
Wales£49,900 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£47,100 (small sample)
Scotland£47,000 (small sample)
North West£46,200 (small sample)
East of England£44,700 (small sample)
South East£43,700 (small sample)
West Midlands£42,200 (small sample)
South West£38,100 (small sample)
East Midlands£33,300 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £41,700
  • 2024 £45,700
  • 2025 Provisional£47,000
↑ 13% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 237 jobs for midwives are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (3 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026250
Jul 2026Not published
Jun 2026Not published
May 2026227
Apr 2026247
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026275
Jan 2026234
Dec 2025121
Nov 2025247
Oct 2025231
Sept 2025300
Aug 2025244
Jul 2025296
Jun 2025357
May 2025379
Apr 2025301
Mar 2025386
Feb 2025411
Jan 2025404
Dec 2024314
Nov 2024389
Oct 2024430
Sept 2024422
Aug 2024491
Jul 2024558
Jun 2024486
May 2024656
Apr 2024671
Mar 2024530
Feb 2024503
Jan 2024708
Dec 2023520
Nov 2023528
Oct 2023606
Sept 2023566
Aug 2023596
Jul 2023695
Jun 2023610
May 2023578
Apr 2023571
Mar 2023696
Feb 2023780
Jan 2023877
Dec 2022742
Nov 2022797
Oct 2022812
Sept 2022694
Aug 2022789
Jul 2022728
Jun 2022615
May 2022738
Apr 2022601
Mar 2022702
Feb 2022654
Jan 2022709
Dec 2021545
Nov 2021664
Oct 2021656
Sept 2021542
Aug 2021465
Jul 2021483
Jun 2021481
May 2021386
Apr 2021391
Mar 2021482
Feb 2021397
Jan 2021387
Dec 2020327
Nov 2020281
Oct 2020412
Sept 2020358
Aug 2020327
Jul 2020266
Jun 2020270
May 2020247
Apr 2020261
Mar 2020307
Feb 2020307
Jan 2020327
Dec 2019276
Nov 2019359
Oct 2019320
Sept 2019334
Aug 2019321
Jul 2019358
Jun 2019350
May 2019453
Apr 2019294
Mar 2019380
Feb 2019287
Jan 2019359
Dec 2018201
Nov 2018354
Oct 2018337
Sept 2018266
Aug 2018260
Jul 2018241
Jun 2018305
May 2018280
Apr 2018279
Mar 2018330
Feb 2018315
Jan 2018320
Dec 2017231
Nov 2017274
Oct 2017295
Sept 2017236
Aug 2017311
Jul 2017290
Jun 2017317
May 2017396
Apr 2017340
Mar 2017347
Feb 2017286
Jan 2017340
Is there a shortage of midwives?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was elevated.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
25%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for nursing professionals, which includes midwives. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London175
Birmingham29
Ashford17
North Yorkshire16
Nottingham14
Oxford14
Leeds13
Manchester11
Luton10
Bolton9
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where midwives are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 23 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from Nigeria, Ghana, India, ranking it 172nd of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of midwives
n/p
30%!
26%!
26%!
16%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–3430% (small sample)
35–4426% (small sample)
45–5426% (small sample)
55–6416% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent80%
Higher education below degree!14%
A levels or equivalent–
Not published
GCSEs or equivalent–
Not published
Other qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent80%
Higher education below degree14% (small sample)
A levels or equivalentNot published
GCSEs or equivalentNot published
Other qualificationsNot published

Main employers: hospital activities (58%), other human health activities (30%), regulation of the activities of providing health care, education, cultural services and other social services, excluding social security (10%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
80%
as their highest qualification
Registration
NMC
required to practise: Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
Apprenticeships
1
from level 6, a degree apprenticeship
Apprenticeships take
4 years
typically

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

University

You can do a degree in midwifery as long as it's approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

If you already have a degree that is not in midwifery, you can do a postgraduate midwifery course to become a midwife.

You may be able to get additional student financial support through the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and science
  • 2 or 3 A levels, including a science, or a level 3 diploma or access to higher education in health, science or nursing
  • a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study

Apprenticeship

You can do a Midwife Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship.

This typically takes 48 months to complete and includes learning on the job and studying at an approved university.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a degree apprenticeship

Other ways in

Volunteering

Volunteering in the NHS is a good way to get work experience in healthcare. This can be helpful when you apply for jobs or training.

Other routes

If you're a registered adult nurse you may be able to take a conversion course to become a midwife. These usually take between 18 and 24 months.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks

Registration and professional bodies

Registration
  • you'll need to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council
Career tips

You would be expected to have an understanding of how the NHS values would apply in your work.

Further information

You can find more on how to become a midwife from the Royal College of Midwives and Health Careers.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for midwife. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

1 for this job
Level 6About 4 yearsDegree

Midwife (2019 NMC standards)

You gain
Degree in Midwifery or L7 Midwifery qualification from a training provider whose…
Registration
Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
Employers may ask for
Entry requirements to the apprenticeship are set locally by individual employers. Apprentices will also need to meet the entry requirements set by the…
Details on Skills England

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • monitors condition and progress of patient and baby throughout pregnancy
  • delivers babies in normal births and assists doctors with difficult deliveries
  • monitors recovery of mother in postnatal period and supervises the nursing of premature and other babies requiring special attention
  • advises on baby care, exercise, diet and family planning issues
  • supervises more junior staff and directs the work of the midwifery unit
  • plans and manages midwifery care services
  • delivers lectures and other forms of training in midwifery practice

Skills

  • accept own accountability
  • address problems critically
  • adhere to organisational guidelines
  • advise on control of conception
  • advise on family planning
  • advise on pregnancies at risk
  • advise on pregnancy
  • apply context specific clinical competences
  • apply organisational techniques
  • assess the course of breast-feeding period
  • assist on pregnancy abnormality
  • care for the new-born infant
  • carry out treatment prescribed by doctors
  • collect biological samples from patients

Knowledge

  • anaesthetics
  • analgesics
  • childbirth
  • dietetics
  • embryology
  • epidemiology
  • female reproductive system pathology
  • health care legislation

Suits people who like

  • Helping and caring for people
  • Working with ideas and solving problems

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for health professionals, a group of 24 jobs that includes midwives.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 19%about 310,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.3 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

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