LAWRENCE Bellamy is the associate dean at the University of Chester's Padgate campus.

In his latest column, he talks about what is next for students.

IF you’ve graduated, completed your BTEC, ‘A’ levels, GCSE or other studies and you haven’t got a job or planned for further studies then you may feel a little lost at the moment.

Building a career requires research, planning, hard work and a little luck (aka good networking).

This time of year sees thousands of young people come onto the job market and start to compete for positions.

So what can Warrington offer them? Warrington has skills requirements which are based upon the success of certain sectors.

These include engineering, construction and logistics. In addition it has opportunities within important areas such as healthcare, education and retail.

These continue to be applicable across the country.

Organisations generally will also have some demand for generic roles, including within administration, accounting and IT for example.

While qualifications are important, experience is often critical for organisations choosing new employees.

If you’re starting down a career path it is important to continue moving in the right direction, so the job which comes up may not be your ‘perfect’ role, but if it provides some relevant experience it could be the best ‘stepping stone.’ Ultimately though, further qualifications could be the only answer.