News
Dale Power Solutions’ (Dale) apprenticeship scheme has seen yet another apprentice recognised for their great acumen within the industry and the latest is Samantha Magowan who won the Stellar Apprentice category ‘industry-based or engineering, trades or construction’ at the inaugural Star Women in Business Awards.
The prestigious award which aims to recognise “female apprentices who have made special effort in their training or business environment, achieved outstanding progress or contributed to their company’s reputation, efficiency or engagement” was presented at a ceremony on Friday 12th April.
Sam, a HND Higher Apprentice, has been with Dale since finishing her A levels. She describes why she decided to take an apprenticeship; “I was performing well academically and was therefore being continually pushed by my tutors take the University route, but the pressure of consistently sitting exams along with an expectation to do well wasn’t what I wanted for my immediate future. The problem was that information about other options wasn’t freely available so I had to look for an alternative, more suitable route for my own journey and discovered apprenticeships.
“My apprenticeship at Dale is very important to me as I am gaining a degree in an environment which gives me a good life work balance and more importantly, I’m really happy.”
Sam is really keen to promote apprenticeships to young people and has represented Dale, as a STEM Ambassador, regularly talks to secondary schools, people at careers (teachers, parents and students) and apprenticeship fairs. She has participated at Scarborough Engineering Week for the past three years, been interviewed on the radio, created newspaper articles and run engineering workshops for both primary and secondary school children. She has since been back to her school to talk with the teaching staff about the pressures of exams and mental health and hopes this will help future students similar to her.
“Sam is a leading light in the apprentice team” says Mark Carter, Business Support Manager at Dale, “She is enthusiastic and always ready to take on new challenges. I’ve been particularly impressed with her commitment to helping other young women interested in taking on an apprenticeship. She works tirelessly in schools and is not afraid to challenge the establishment which I think makes a really positive impact.”
At Dale, Sam has been undertaking a rotational apprenticeship programme, moving around the different departments and gaining a thorough understanding of the whole business. She began on the shop floor in the Product Department for 9 months, then moved into Testing for 9 months followed by 11 months in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Design. Since January 2019 she has been working in technical sales for the generator area whilst still attending college on a weekly basis.
With her drive, understanding and attitude towards growth Sam has recently been given a key role on a project to develop a new range of containerised UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) systems for Dale. Roger Clay, Product Director, Dale explains why this award is well deserved. “Sam demonstrated a very professional and thorough approach to what was a highly demanding and comprehensive project and produced highly detailed and accurate output. For someone that had little experience on the particular requirements in the project her performance was top draw and highly deserves the recognition she has received in the “Star Women in Business” awards.”
See a video of Sam talking about her apprenticeship.