Don Howard was lucky enough to be offered a seven-year apprenticeship withChadburns, a company producing ship’s telegraphs and other maritimeequipment.While serving his apprenticeship and later as a designer draughtsman, Don spentnine years attending night schools. At the end of the ninth year, he had beenawarded, in the field of Mechanical Engineering, a Pre-National Certificate, anOrdinary National Certificate, a Higher National Certificate, and he had passedall of the extra subjects required by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. Donwas accepted as a Graduate Member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineersand later as an Associate Member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.After a number of years working as a designer, he decided to make a careerchange. After completing a full year’s course in technical teaching, in Bolton,Don started out on what was to be his main interest for a major part of hisworking life. Don spent nineteen years developing courses and teaching in theUK, Bermuda, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Algeria.He believes that his most productive years were spent in Saudi Arabia, where hehad the academic rank of Associate Professor, and where he was the Director ofthe university’s engineering laboratories. On his return to the UK in 1978, Dondiscovered that the number of apprenticeships in the engineering industry haddecreased dramatically and there were few courses being offered for theiradvancement. He decided to make another career change. After a full year’scourse on Technical Authorship in 1987, Don set off on a new, challenging andrewarding career. Writing technical documentation for companies such as ShellUK, Shell International, Heinz Foods Ltd, and British Nuclear Fuels kept himbusy for a further 12 years.