Simon Ruffles, Design Engineer for Cummins visited aspiring engineers in Year 12 & 13. Simon charted his own career journey, which started from a childhood desire to break things apart to see how they worked, to a 4-year post-16 apprenticeship, which provided him with practical skills, a fundamental view of engineering and a wealth of experience.
During his apprenticeship, Simon achieved his degree in Engineering with Management, which allowed him to progress into project management, to include many of the programmes he oversees today. He continued his studies by completing a Masters in Manufacturing Engineering with Management. In 2001 he joined Cummins after a short period of self-employment.
During the session, Simon was keen to impart the importance of ensuring that students commit to continuous personal development. He kindly shared a number of websites and organisations who provide information, reports and articles designed to broaden awareness of the industry. He also noted that students with aspirations to work as engineers can access the industry via university or apprenticeship routes, listing clearly the 'pros and cons' of each pathway.
Simon’s career has given him the opportunity to travel, explore a variety of roles and develop his skills into a number of areas. Simon offered information absolutely vital for students to consider as they develop their career plans. We would like to extend our thanks to Simon for his time and support and look forward to welcoming him back to the Academy again soon.