Spotlight On
A spotlight on Harwin
This month’s spotlight is on Harwin, with a focus on one of their apprentices. CIE editor, Amy Wallington, talks to Dave Parsons about his fledgling career in electronics engineering
D Dave Parsons, Apprentice at Harwin 34 December 2017/January 2018
ave Parsons is not your average candidate for the monthly CIE Spotlight On. Rather than being CEO – or at least high up the ranks ¬– of the company in which he works, Harwin Plc, he’s right at the start of his vocational development. He has just completed a four-year apprenticeship with the Portsmouth-based company, which is a world class manufacturer of both high reliability and industry standard connectors, plus board level EMC shielding and associated PCB hardware. He’s a keen champion of his chosen profession and more than ready to talk about the opportunities with which he’s been – and is being – presented with at Harwin. Given the known difficulty that there is in attracting youngsters to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, it is refreshing to come across someone just embarking on his
Components in Electronics
career who exhibits such enthusiasm. Ben Green, Head of New Business at Harwin, also gives us his views on the company’s apprenticeship programme.
What led you to apply for the Harwin apprentice programme?
Even though my secondary school didn’t put an emphasis on design technology and definitely didn’t encourage anyone to become an engineer, I have always had an interest in engineering and enjoyed using construction kits like Meccano and K’nex when I was growing up. My dad is an engineer and I learnt basic machining skills from him, working in our garage at home – which is fitted with a lathe, mill, pillar drill and other tools. Since I was young, I’ve tinkered with motorbikes and my dad and I recently restored a 1941 Willys Jeep. I’ve also been involved with DIY around the house and woodworking from an early age, which has helped me to hone my hand skills. Through one of my dad’s friends, I heard about the Southampton Engineering Training Association (SETA). I applied to them after my GCSEs and went through a series of aptitude tests. Then they match applicants and their skills with the requirements of local employers. That’s how I came to work for Harwin.
A Harwin designed and manufactured assembly machine
Describe a typical day for an apprentice at Harwin. What projects have you been involved with since you began work there?
Harwin has done a lot to make the whole apprentice experience as fulfilling as possible. The apprentices are, as you’d expect, given all the training they need – for example, health and safety, how to behave around and handle machinery – but they’re also given full responsibility for the role they’re assigned. One of the ways that the other apprentices and I developed was through the Friday morning ‘Apprentice Club’ that was held every week. This gave us the opportunity to suggest ways of improving the processes on the production line and maximising operational efficiency. Some of our ideas have stayed on the drawing board, but several were implemented. I always knew that my chosen path was tool-making. I began at Harwin carrying out solid surface grinding. After that I moved on to mould tool servicing, where I learnt to strip, clean and service pattern mould tools, as well as how to modify and repair them. Next I went to the electrical discharge machining (EDM) department, learning how to operate spark erosion machines. Then I moved on to the manufacturing area,
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