Sukhi Kaur Smith
Project Officer, School of Engineering
About Sukhi
I joined the university in 2016, as a Personal Assistant, whilst in the role I gained exposure to many aspects of university administration, around student admin processes alongside professional services and research processes. The more I learned, the more I found there were opportunities to further develop my skills and create a career for myself. Since working for the university I have developed through 4 different roles, working my way up the pay scales and grades. So, I would say there is always opportunities to move around the organisation.
Alongside my paid employment, I am also studying a part-time degree, BSc Combined, Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics, the support from the university for personal development has been invaluable.
I am a member of the rainbow and women’s networks, and there are other networks which are open too such as the black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) network. There is also a staff football team, if that’s your kind of thing.
The benefits are great, with two very good pension schemes, good annual leave entitlement and extra in the form of university closed days. There are also a few discount perks, if you join some of the unions or discounts for teachers, alongside the usual salary sacrifice deals on travel, electric cars etc.
As with also most everything, the Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact. And changed the way we work, the university is supportive of ‘hybrid’ working. For me that means I can take work from home days when I am not needed on site, living 50 miles from Birmingham, this is useful for me, as well as the environment.