Getting Licensed as a Professional Engineer, Geologist, or Geophysicist with APEGGA

Getting Licensed as a Professional Engineer, Geologist, or Geophysicist with APEGGA PARK POWELL, P.Eng.

APEGGA Assistant Director of Registration

The Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta

AGENDA

Overview of the Canadian engineering and geoscience licensing system

Introduction to APEGGA Registration with APEGGA – process,

procedure, forms Questions and answers

Focus – helping you understand how to become licensed with APEGGA

Engineering Licensure in Canada

Licensure in Canada

For Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists

The Canadian System

In Canada engineering and geoscience are regulated professions

No one can practice engineering or geoscience without being licensed – “RIGHT TO PRACTICE”

No one can call themselves and engineer or geoscientist without being licensed – “RIGHT TO TITLE”

The licensing system was developed to ensure that only qualified and capable individuals are allowed to practice in the professions.

The Canadian System

In Canada the engineering and geoscience professions are regulated provincially.

There is a regulatory body in each province and territory.

There is separate and unique legislation in each province/territory.

The professions are self regulated and self governing.

There is no federal regulatory body.

The Canadian System

In Alberta APEGGA has been given the authority and responsibility to regulate the professions of engineering, geology and geophysics.

APEGGA is the only body in Alberta or Canada that has the authority to issue a license to practice engineering, geology or geophysics.

PROTECTION OF THE PUBLIC IS PARAMOUNT

The Canadian System

Being licensed in any one province does not give you the right to practice in any other province.

You must be licensed in each province that you practice in.

You can be licensed in all provinces/territories if necessary.

Most common is licensure in 2 or 3 provinces where work is being performed.

The Canadian System

In order to obtain a license in Alberta you will need to apply to APEGGA.

In order to obtain a license in another province you will need to apply to the association representing that province/territory.

Caution: Each province has slightly different requirements.

Engineers Canada

Engineers Canada – formerly CCPE – Canadian Council of Professional Engineers.

Engineers Canada is not a regulatory body and has no jurisdiction and no authority.

Engineers Canada was created by the 12 provincial regulatory associations to act as a resource and assist in standardizing requirements across Canada.

Engineers Canada

Initial/Informal Assessment (IA)

An academic assessment for immigration purposes

A positive IA assessment meant that the person was suitable for immigration. It does not mean that the person was fully qualified for licensure in any Canadian jurisdiction.

It has no bearing on APEGGA’s evaluation of qualifications for licensure.

Engineers Canada

EIEAP – Replaced the IA program.

Not an assessment of academic qualifications for licensure in Canada.

Assessment for immigration purposes to help people to make informed choices when applying for entrance to Canada.

Geoscientists Canada

Geoscientists Canada (formerly Canadian Council of Professional Geoscientists) is not a regulatory body and has no jurisdiction and no authority.

Geoscientists Canada was created by the 12 provincial regulatory associations to act as a resource and assist in standardizing requirements across Canada.

Academic Assessments

APEGGAs Board of Examiners is the only body under the EGGP Act that has the authority to evaluate qualifications for licensure.

Evaluations done by other bodies have no bearing on whether a person meets the qualifications for licensure with APEGGA.

CCPE IA or EIEAP

IQAS

WES

Summary – the Canadian System

Regulated Profession

Provincial Jurisdiction

Must be licensed in each province

APEGGA in Alberta

APEGGA

APEGGA – Who and What are We?

Created in 1920 by the Alberta Government

Created to regulate the practice of engineering, geology and geophysics in Alberta.

Governed by the Engineering, Geological and Geophysical Act of Alberta (EGGP).

Primary role is to ensure the protection of the public by ensuring that professional members are qualified, capable and practice competently and ethically.

APEGGA – Who and What are We?

Currently over 59,000 members.

Over 6000 applications for licensure were received in 2010.

Of those applications approximately one-third (2000) were from foreign trained graduates in all three professions.

APEGGA has offices in Calgary and Edmonton with approximately 70 staff overall.

APEGGA – Who and What are We?

Registration – evaluates qualifications for licensure.

Discipline – monitors members to ensure they are practicing skillfully, ethically and professionally.

Investigation – works in coordination with discipline to investigate complaints against members.

Compliance – policing non-licensed individuals or businesses that are practicing the professions or using a professional designation.

Registration

Five criteria for Licensure

1. Academics Require original transcripts

2. Experience Require Work Experience Records References for all work to be counted

3. Character From references and self declaration

4. English Language TOEFL or Handwritten letter

5. Professional Practice NPPE

Professional Licensure

Professional Engineer, Geologist or Geophysicist

Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident

Must meet the FIVE CRITERIA

Foreign Licensee Not a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident

Must meet the FIVE CRITERIA

Professional Licensure

Member In Training

Engineer in Training – EIT

Geologist in Training – Geol.IT

Geophysicist in Training – Geoph.IT

Must satisfy only TWO CRITERIA

Academics

Good Character Note: Experience is not reviewed or considered.

Professional Licensure

Professional Licensee.

Minimum academics required are two years of post secondary education acceptable to the Board of Examiners.

Six years of experience related to the profession.

Assigned a specific Defined Scope of Practice.

License to practice independently within that scope of practice.

Has the same duties, obligations and responsibilities as a professional member.

Professional Licensure

Provisional Licensee.

Granted to foreign trained individuals who meet all of the requirements for membership except the one year Canadian experience.

A designation that can show potential employers that APEGGA has qualified your credentials and only the one year of Canadian experience is required before full licensure.

Board of Examiners

Executive Board of Examiners

Determines whether applicants meet the requirements for registration

20 Academic Examiners 20 Experience Examiners 3 Public Members Meets 11 times per year (once per month except July)

Full Board of Examiners

Deals with policy issues and appeals Includes the executive Board plus 3 public members and 3

Members at Large.

Registration

Processing.

All documents received

File sent to Academic examiner - recommendation

File sent to experience examiner – recommendation

File to Board of Examiners

Times vary based on

the number of applications

Time to receive documents – translations, references

Complications with an application

ACADEMICS

Academic Requirements(Engineering)-How Does APEGGA Evaluate These? CEAB- Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board

(Canadian engineering programs)

MRA (Mutual Recognition Agreements) with US, UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ, HK, South Africa France Japan and Singapore

FDL (Foreign Degree List) – undergraduate degrees in engineering

Non-FDL - undergraduate degrees in engineering not found in one of the three categories above

Non-Engineering Degrees – eg. NAIT/SAIT technology diploma, Math degree, Physics degree

Academic Requirements-Starting Point Evaluations for Engineering only

CEAB

MRA

FDL

Non-FDL

Non-degree

-0 exams

-Probably 0 exams

-FE Exam

-FE Exam

-Up to 24 exams(course-by-course)

-0 exams

-Probably 0 exams

-FE Exam

-FE Exam

-Up to 24 exams(course-by-course)

FE Confirmatory Exam-Why is it Assigned? Confirm the quality and understanding of your

undergraduate engineering degree

The assumption is you have an undergraduate degree in engineering. If you don’t have this you will be assigned exams (up to 24) on a course-by-course basis

Covers broad range of material already taken in your degree

Must write exam, can not take university course equivalent instead

Fundamentals of Engineering Exam

Administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES).

8 hours long, problem solving type of exam. 4 hour morning session - general - all disciplines. 4 hour afternoon session – choice of specific discipline

or general engineering. 70% required for a pass. 2 exam sessions per year

April/May and October/November Information at www.ncees.org

Geoscience Confirmatory Exams

Since there is no accreditation anywhere in the world for geology or geophysics education a three exam confirmatory assessment is given to foreign trained graduates.

A course by course gap assessment is done for those graduates from institutions in North America.

Geoscientists Canada maintain a national educational knowledge base of required courses that satisfies the educational requirements for licensure in Canada.

Course-by-Course Exams

Assigned to fill academic deficiencies not to confirm an undergraduate engineering degree

Can either write APEGGA exams or take approved university course equivalents

APEGGA Technical Exams

3 hours long, problem solving type of exams

technical exams in your engineering discipline

at a level taken by Canadian engineering students in their undergraduate degree

prepared by professors at the U of Calgary and U of Alberta that teach those subjects

2 exam sessions per year

April/May and October/November

Waiving FE Exam

Waive Exams?

Masters or PhD

-CEAB or MRA institution-Same or closely related discipline-technical in nature (containingsignificant engineering design and analysis)-course work must be complete

EXPERIENCE

Experience: Quantity

4 years required once academically qualified

At least one year equivalent North American engineering experience – in most cases this means one year Canadian engineering experience

Must be Referenced

Experience: Quality - the 5 Elements

1. Application of Technical Theory

2. Practical Experience

3. Development of Management Skills

4. Development of Communication Skills

5. Development of the Understanding of Societal

Implications

Experience - Quality

The Board of Examiners places more emphasis on the first two elements than on the last 3 elements

The Board wants to see evidence of direct engineering experience

Understanding of first principles

Problem solving

Refer to “Experience Requirements for Licensure- A Guideline” for more detailed information

Levels Of Experience

Technologist Level - technician or technologist level

capped at 12 months maximum

Professional Level - professional level

- typically 36 months required

- minimum 24 months required if experience credit given for post-graduate degree

Construction Engineering & Management

This type of work must have the following attributes to be acceptable for full credit.

Has full knowledge of the project and liaises with the project owner. Responsible for planning, implementing and finalizing projects. Ensures timeliness, cost, quality and safety. Includes risk assessment, project scope and deliverables, scheduling, site inspections, procurement, resource management, managing people and environmental considerations.

Application of theory must be present. Minimum 1 year of theory along with 3 years Construction E &

M Can be factored if there is no evidence of the application of

theory in the work..

Supply Chain Management

Includes purchasing, contract administration, quality control and inspection

Generally little evidence of the application of theory

Factoring is to start at 0.25 and can be raised by the examiner if there is better evidence of the application of theory

Must have a minimum of two years of the application of theory in your discipline and the rest in this field factored at 25%

Project/Cost Controls Engineering

Includes cost estimating, cost tracking, planning, scheduling, change management and management progress reporting

Minimum of 2 years of application of theory with the remaining project/cost controls engineering experience to be factored at 0.25

Factoring is to start at 0.25 and can be raised by the examiner if there is better evidence of the application of theory

Sales Engineering

A salesperson with technical knowledge.

Has technical knowledge about the product and service being sold.

Uses this knowledge to determine a client’s needs

Sees a project through from the first contact with the buyer, through to completion

Identifies technical issues and solves problems.

Can be factored if there is no evidence of the application of theory in the work

Waiving Exams Based on Experience

Waive Exams?

Experience Required

-At least 10 years for FDL degrees, geology and geophysics degrees-At least 12 years for non-FDL degrees-Overseas experience will be counted if referenced-Must be solid engineering level work-Increasing technical competence and levels of responsibility-Must be referenced

Experience

In all of the cases above the burden is on the applicant to

demonstrate the application of theory in their experience.

One Year Equivalent NorthAmerican Engineering Experience

1 year Canadian experience

Why? What?

-Codes and standards-climate conditions-culture-ethics-business practices-work environment

-engineering level

-under supervision and control of a P.Eng.

-P.Eng supervisor will be required to supply a ReferenceQuestionnaire

One Year Equivalent North American Experience

Must gain this experience working under the supervision and control of a professional member.

Post graduate experience for a completed Masters or PhD does not satisfy the one year equivalent North American experience requirement.

Acceptable experience can be obtained in a university setting but it must be outside the Masters or PhD program.

Description of Work ExperienceMust use the prescribed Work Experience Record

form – no other form is acceptableWork Experience Summary – single pageWork Experience Record Details – one page for each job or position

Require detailed chronological information on job positions, titles, job descriptions, assignments, and duties and responsibilities with emphasis on the engineering content of the work experience

Evidence of Increasing Technical Competency and Levels of Responsibility

Description of Work Experience

The experience record must focus on the application of engineering or geoscience principles.

Detail the actual duties that you performed

Focus on the 5 quality elements of experience

References-Who Can Be a Reference?

Reference must have first-hand personal knowledge of your work experience

References should be from engineers or geoscientists – supervisors or clients

Preferred references are from Professional Members in supervisory roles

If Reference Questionnaire is completed in a language other than English, APEGGA will have it translated at our expense

References-How Many are Needed?

Minimum of 3 references but more might be required

Provide reference names and addresses on the Work Experience Record.

KEY- need references to cover the entire work history

TIP: If you want the Board to consider waiving exams based on 10 years of experience we will need references to cover at least 10 years of experience eg if you had 6 jobs over 10 years we will need at

least 6 references

Discuss registration requirements with your Supervisor to ensure you are getting the right type of training and experience for registration

Most Supervisors know they will be asked to be a Reference but it is a good idea to confirm this with them now

Contact references ahead of time to advise them they will be receiving Reference Questionnaire forms from APEGGA and ask them to complete and submit those forms to APEGGA as quickly as possible

Waiving Examinations-Based on Experience

If you want the Board to consider waiving exams based on experience you should apply for P.Eng or FLIC, not EIT.

This is because experience is not a requirement for EIT status and the Board does not evaluate experience for EIT applicants.

Reconsiderations & Appeals

If you think that there has been information missed or not reviewed you can request a Reconsideration of a Board decision

Must provide new or additional information within 30 days of receipt of your letter.

$150 reconsideration fee

If the Reconsideration is denied you can request an Appeal to the Full Board from an unsuccessful Reconsideration

Must provide new or additional information within 30 days of receipt of your letter

$150 fee

English Language Competency (ELC)

ELC

TOEFLHandwritten Letter

andCanadian P.Eng. References

-600 on paper test-250 on computerTest-100 on internet test

-letter explaining why you areCompetent in the English language

-Canadian P.Eng references also comment on your ability to communicate in English

OR

Professional Practice Exam

Professional Practice Examination (PPE)

All applicants must write PPE

Tests applicants’ knowledgeof law, ethics, and professionalism

Professional Practice Exam- Content

Professionalism

Professional Practice

Regulatory Authority Requirements

Law and Legal Concepts

The EGGP Act

Study Kit - $155

– Purchase through APEGGA office or borrow one from a friend.

Professional Practice Examination -Exam Type and Format

100 question, multiple choice

2 hours, closed book

Pass/Fail with 65% minimum

Grade is Final

Offered 4 times per year, typically in up to 20+ locations around North America

Applying to Write PPE

- EIT, Exam Candidate or Student or active applicant for P.Eng or EIT

Apply using PPE Application Form – found in Application for Registration package

PPE fee - $140

For forms and more information refer to APEGGA web-site at www.apegga.org/members/registration/professional.htm

General Information

Apply using Application for Registration form

can download Application documentation from APEGGA web-site

Experience Requirements for Licensure - A Guideline

on the APEGGA web-site (part of Application for Registration package)

Application for Registration -Documents to Complete “Application for Registration” form

Name and contact information of at least 3 references (more than 3 references may be required)

“Request for Academic Documents” form - send it to your university not to APEGGA

Copy of proof of Canadian Citizenship or permanent resident status

application fee

ELC documentation at some point

Applicant Identification

Once you have submitted your application to APEGGA you will receive a member number

such as

M12345

Use this number for any correspondence with APEGGA.

Transcripts andCertificates of Graduation

APEGGA must receive original transcripts and Certificates of Graduation directly from your institutions

Use the “Request for Academic Documents” form to instruct your institutions to send your transcripts and Certificates of Graduation directly to APEGGA

Transcripts andCertificates of Graduation

- APEGGA will get them translated at APEGGA’s expense

If APEGGA does not receive direct confirmation from your university, the Board will not waive exams based on experience and will also specify which exams you must write

Documentation-Summary

Academics

Experience

Character

PPE

ELC

-transcripts/cert of graduation

-Experience records-references

-application form-references

- PPE exam

-TOEFL-letter plus references

Other -Can citizen/PR Card

Length of Time to Evaluate Applications

Usually takes 6 to 12 months to complete the evaluation of an applicant’s qualifications

Will vary depending on how long it takes to receive all the required documentation

May take longer if translations required

Writing Exams - Guidelines

Exam assessments must be started within 2 years of the Board review date.

A course by course exam assessment can be satisfied by taking university level equivalents or by writing the APEGGA exams.

A confirmatory assessment can only be satisfied by writing the FE exam.

“Eligible for Registration” - What Does This Mean? Job advertisements often indicate that an applicant

for the job must be “eligible for registration” with APEGGA. What does this mean?

It means different things to different employers

To some employers this might mean a person must be eligible for registration immediately

To other employers it might mean that they think the person has the skills & abilities to do the job and as long as the person is willing to apply to APEGGA that’s okay even if they have to write exams or meet other requirements

APEGGA Services & Benefits

-Mentoring programs

-Resume Referral Service

-Insurance Program & other Member Benefits

Refer to APEGGA web-site for more info

www.apegga.org/members/memberservices.html

APEGGA Mentoring Programs

Pool A: employed members Work related soft skills

Pool B: unemployed members Job search related skills

Resume preparation

Interviewing

Networking

For more information contact: Arlene Lack. E-mail alack@apegga.org

APEGGAResume Referral Service

Computerized job registry system

Employers list positions and contact information

Individuals list 50 word descriptions

Searchable by key words, geographic areas and other variables

Over 1000 job postings this year so far

APEGGAResume Referral Service

Searchable by both the employers and the individuals

Individuals can search the posted jobs

Individual can contact employer directly

Employers can search the 50 word descriptions supplied by individuals

Employer can ask APEGGA to send them the individual’s resume

APEGGAResume Referral Service

For more info contact:

Sandy Roth at ‘sroth@apegga.org’

Or see the “Careers” section of our web-site

Mobility

Must be licensed in each province in which you practice

Can be registered in more than one province at the same time

Inter-Association Mobility Agreements (IAMA)

signed in 1999 for P.Eng

signed in 2001 for P.Geo

IAMA transfers – streamline the application and evaluation process

Contact Information

APEGGA Web-site ‘www.apegga.org’ IEG section Application Forms and instructions

Mark Tokarik, LL.B., P.Eng – Director of Registration ‘mtokarik@apegga.org’

Bill Santo, P.Eng – Assistant Director ‘bsanto@apegga.org’

Park Powell, P.Eng – Assistant Director ‘ppowell@apegga.org

1-800-661-7020 or 780-426-3990

Questions?

Thank You!