Background
Northern Ireland’s maternity services depend on a highly skilled and sustainable midwifery workforce capable of delivering safe, effective and person-centred care across a range of settings. To support workforce development and strengthen career opportunities for midwives, NIPEC is leading a regional project to develop a structured Midwifery Career Pathway Framework. It will reflect the full continuum of midwifery careers, from pre-registration and support worker roles through to advanced and consultant-level practice.
This project will support workforce sustainability, career development and succession planning while helping midwives navigate clear professional progression routes. By promoting consistency and recognising the breadth of midwifery practice, the framework will contribute to the delivery of safe, effective and high-quality maternity care across Northern Ireland.
Aim
The Midwifery Career Pathway Project aims to develop and implement a structured regional framework that clearly defines midwifery roles, capabilities and career progression opportunities across the Health and Social Care system in Northern Ireland. The framework will support midwives throughout their professional careers and align with workforce, service and population health needs.
Project Objectives
The project will:
- Develop regionally agreed career pathways for midwives across three core pathways (Clinical; Operational and Education and Research);
- Define core competencies and role expectations for midwifery and maternity roles across Levels 2–8;
- Develop role frameworks, job plans and job descriptions for identified roles within the pathway;
- Create a learning and development matrix that signposts midwives and maternity support workers to appropriate education, training and professional development opportunities throughout their careers;
- Produce a regional framework document and implementation plan to support adoption across the HSC system;
- Publish role frameworks and associated resources through the NIPEC website and support dissemination through regional maternity networks. Identify opportunities for quality improvement through consultation, testing and expert review.
Project Governance
The project is supported through a two-tier governance structure comprising a Steering Group and a Working Group.
Project Lead: Clare Hughes, Senior Professional Officer, NIPEC.
Resources
| Title | Date added | Download |
|---|---|---|
| Midwifery Career Pathway PID | 06-07-2026 | DownloadPreview |