Ruth Sheridan

Meet Ruth Sheridan, Curriculum Team Leader in Mechanical and General Engineering

Ruth Sheridan, Curriculum Team Leader for Mechanical and General Engineering, helps ensure students have the right tools for industry to reach their dream career. 

Ruth, who has been a valued staff member at Middlesbrough College for almost 10 years, started her career in secondary schools teaching Engineering Design Technology: 

“Teaching has always been a dream of mine, even as a pupil myself in primary school I was certain I would be a teacher. I taught in secondary schools for over eight years and after being made redundant, saw the role at Middlesbrough College and the rest is history.” 

“During my career I have also worked in industry as a Composite Engineer and Workshop Technician so I have a solid understanding of working on the shop floor. In fact, I was the very first female to work on the shop floor at the organisation I worked for! I have to say, I never experienced any discrimination for being a woman in a traditionally male led industry, everyone was very welcoming, and we just got on with the job.  

“I think it’s important for other young women to hear that as there can often be a sense of nervousness among young females who want to get into the industry, they need to understand there is 100% a place for them, ready and waiting!” 

Ruth, who is also dyslexic, is a fitting example to all her students of what you can achieve if you believe in yourself, and she loves hearing success stories from past students who do just that: 

“I love hearing from students who have left us to find out how their career is going, it’s what I love about the job most. I love to see learners get to the end of their dream goal. 

“We have students who are now working for Mini Cooper, Civil Engineers helping construct large scale bridges and Biomed Engineers using 3D printers to print bones – it’s truly fascinating!” 

Since Ruth’s time at the College, she has seen a number of developments and enjoyed watching the campus grow to be the largest in the region: 

“The College is always expanding, Engineering for example was one small block in the main building when I started. We now have our dedicated STEM Centre which is home to our replicated industrial site – you cannot get better than that!” 

She’s also taken advantage of the College’s CPD offering and completed her Leadership and Management Apprenticeship Degree in 2019.

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