MK Innovates: ‘I was learning electronics at five years old’ says mum-of-two Dawn

Dawn Fitt first picked up a soldering iron at the age of five.

By the time she was 10 she had built her own Stylophone - the bonkers pocket electronic musical device that was all the rage in the 1970s.

Now, after an immensely satisfying career in engineering, the mother-of-two is “giving something back” as one of the champions of apprenticeships at Milton Keynes College.

Dawn is fully behind next month’s MK Innovates initiative, a social media extravaganza that aims to inspire schoolchildren - particularly girls - to study STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths).

“Apprenticeships are an alternative to the traditional university route into engineering,” said Dawn. “It gives young people the opportunity to ‘earn while they learn’ and also enables organisations to plug that skills gap, which we definitely need.

“A lot of apprentices have gone on to do some amazing things.”

Dawn joined MK College last year as deputy head of school engineering apprenticeships.

The college works with about 160 apprentices each year, about seven to nine per cent of which are women - on a par with the national average.

“It is about opening young people’s eyes to the opportunities that are available to them,” said Dawn.

“You can go to work and be creative, imaginative, and solve problems - and you get to meet a huge variety of people. Every day is different."

“When you get stuck into problems it is quite exciting. You are making a difference to products that are coming off the line, making sure people are getting things they want. You know you have done a good job at the end of the day.”

Dawn first handled a soldering iron under the watchful eye of her dad, who was an engineer in the army, and had his own home workshop.

She has been passionate about working with young people ever since her first managing director told her to “go out and spread the word” about engineering.

“I was packed off to Birmingham every Tuesday to engage with some inner city schoolgirls and get them enthused about engineering. I really enjoyed it, and it is something I have done constantly since I was an apprentice.”

Jason Ford, news editor at www.theengineer.co.uk, said: “Dawn's story highlights the importance of satisfying curious young minds with 'hands on' experience.

“Dawn used a soldering iron under the supervision of her dad, but there are loads of kits - Meccano being the obvious choice for people of a certain age - that can help bring out that problem solving quality inherent in all engineers.

“And an apprenticeship should be seen and valued as a route into a STEM careers. Look at EDF - a number of their senior engineers at stations across the UK started their careers as craft apprentices. An apprenticeship really will give school leavers a head start.”

MK Innovates runs from March 8-12 and features challenges, problem solving and expert Q&A sessions on a number of companies’ social media platforms under the hashtags #MKInnovates #BSW21 #InnovatingForTheFuture

To find out more about the themes in this article, search apprentice, apprenticeships, STEM, engineering, Dawn Fitt, MK College, MK Innovates.