I see knowledge transfer as my mission
Ever since my time at the MTS (polytechnic education), it appealed to me that the subject teachers came from the business world. They did not bring purely theoretical knowledge, but real practical experience. That is the main motivation for me to transfer my knowledge to young people.
As the person responsible for recruiting trainees in the field of technology and engineering, I get great satisfaction from transferring knowledge. After more than 25 years of experience at Suurmond, I want to share my practical experience with the next generation, just as my teachers did back then. In recent years we have had motivated trainees, which facilitated the transfer of knowledge.
Generation gaps
The generation gap in our field can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. Education is evolving, but I see that practical experience is often lacking. In the end, age doesn’t matter; professional knowledge is what counts. In technical courses, you expect a certain basic knowledge, but there often doesn’t seem to be any. Even in MBO courses (secondary Vocational Education and Training), we have seen colleagues with experience as engineers who cannot even distinguish a screwdriver from a spanner.
Supervising trainees motivates you to keep up with the latest technologies, which enriches my work as a mechanical engineer.
As a mechanical engineer, keeping up to date is essential
To keep abreast of technological developments, I read newsletters, publications and stay in touch with clients and projects. Technological progress requires continuous adaptation and learning. The new generation often brings advanced technologies, which contributes to our evolution in the field.
We keep getting better at what we do
My work remains challenging because of the unique customer requests. Although pump technology has been around for decades, each application requires customisation. This variety keeps my work exciting and leads to continuous improvement based on customer feedback and our own findings.
This continuous development keeps us on our toes and ensures that we keep getting better at what we do. It is important to remain critical and learn from every project experience.
Support each other and learn from one another
Teamwork is crucial at Suurmond, despite our small organisation. In more complex projects, colleagues with different skills work together. We support each other with ideas and learn from the new generation, who look more theoretically at technical solutions, while they often turn to the older generation for practical matters. This results in a valuable addition of knowledge and skills within our team.