Modern Day Visionary 2016: SUZI GRAY
Sqn Ldr Suzi Gray BEng(hons) BSc(hons) IEng MIMechE has most recently carried out the role of Course Officer on Engineering Officer Foundation Training at the Defence School of Aeronautical Engineering, RAF Cosford. She is currently on maternity leave and plans to move into a new role at RAF Brize Norton in April next year. Suzi is a remarkable engineer who has taken on significant responsibility across a wide range of technical fields, both in the UK and abroad in operational theatres.
Suzi was sponsored by the RAF through her BEng in Aerospace Engineering at Southampton University. She also has a BSc in Engineering Management from Lincoln University, for which she received credits from her engineering training and completed via part time study. Suzi chose engineering as she enjoyed maths, science and IT at school, and wanted to study something that had aspects of all of them but was more practical. “Engineering has been such a rewarding career choice, giving me opportunities to carry out so many exciting and interesting roles” she explains.
A main highlight of her job has been the four deployments abroad, where she was responsible for the safety of Merlin helicopter aircraft and for armament safety. “The overall responsibility for making decisions on the airworthiness of an aircraft is both exciting and daunting. I have enjoyed this aspect of the RAF and the challenge of meeting operational requirements.”
Suzi has also had a project management role at Abbeywood, where she had financial and commercial responsibilities. Her most recent role involved her teaching general engineering principles and assessing new RAF engineering officers in armaments. She was also responsible for a cohort of students as they worked through their training. “It has been extremely enjoyable mentoring and teaching new officers and I have tried to incorporate my own experiences to assist with key learning points.”
“The RAF has given me an interesting, challenging and rewarding career. I think the variety of experiences from hands-on work on aircraft, to training roles and project management is second to none. They have been extremely supportive through my maternity leave and I look forward to returning to work next year.”
Suzi has hosted a number of visits to RAF bases, encouraging youngsters to consider a career in engineering within the RAF. She was also involved in a WISE event that hosted girls aged between 13 and 15 for a week at Cosford. “I was involved in the pastoral care of the girls and it was great to see them excited about changing tyres and getting stuck into the role,” she explains. “The number of women coming into the RAF is increasing, and the WISE and STEM activities seem to be having an effect.”
Suzi is looking forward to her next role which is more strategic; she will be working on fleet management both now and in the future. “Engineers are often required to be more than engineers”, she reflects. “I have enjoyed broadening my portfolio of skills and getting wider experience. The RAF have supported me in this and I have enjoyed the challenge.”
“Both the RAF and industry are currently dealing with a real shortage of engineers. We need to have enough engineers to not only cope day to-day, but also to plan for the future. I think it is important that all the initiatives such as STEMNET and WISE work together and co-operate to encourage engineers, regardless of which company or organisation they end up working for.”
“I am honoured to have been invited to be the Modern Day Visionary,” says Suzi. “It is important to have role models that are relevant and that young people can relate to. Although I am only a few years into my career, I hope that I can show how exciting and rewarding an engineering career is.”
Read about all the awards recognised at the Vision Awards