INNOVATION January-February 2015

f ea t u r e s Public Opinion Poll Yields Insights on Perceptions of the Professions Key insights • Engineers and geoscientists continue to be held in high regard by the public , relative to other professions. • Identified barriers for teens to pursue careers in engineering and geoscience still continue to persist . An aptitude in math, and tuition costs are the main barrier for teens to pursue an engineering career, while a lack of awareness and information on career options is the main barrier to pursuing careers in geoscience. • More British Columbians are becoming aware of APEGBC , and maintain positive views on the organization’s responsibilities, particularly with regard to developing guidelines and standards of practice, and investigating complaints. • APEGBC is aligned with the characteristics that British Columbians want to see in an organization that serves the public interest .

scored engineers and geoscientists relatively high. They were asked “generally speaking, do you tend to have a great deal of respect, a fair amount of respect, not much respect or very little respect” [for these professions]. Engineers scored 90%, steady from the 2011 poll, second only to doctors at 96%, and higher than architects at 88%. Respect for geoscientists improved, increasing by four points to 79%, between teachers (80%) and journalists (65%). When asked about their familiarity with what engineers and geoscientists do, we saw mixed results. The percentage of those who said they were either familiar or very familiar with what engineers do decreased from 72% in 2011 to 69%; whereas, respondents’ familiarity with the work of geoscientists actually increased from 34% in 2011 to 37%. Most open-ended responses related to what

To support our role as a public safety regulator as well as the work we do to promote public awareness of the contributions of engineers and geoscientists, APEGBC conducts a public opinion survey every three years. This survey gauges: • Public awareness and perceptions of the engineering and geosci- ence professions; • Public awareness and perceptions of APEGBC; and • Perceived barriers to careers in the professions. In this article, we present key insights from the 2014 public opinion survey that concluded in the fall, following up on surveys conducted in 2008 and 2011. As a regulator working for the public interest, it is important for

APEGBC to be aware of how it aligns with public expectations. This is valuable research that informs APEGBC program content and policy decisions. This year, questions were added to the survey to gather data on APEGBC’s brand perception. The results of the public opinion poll have an influence on the association’s strategic plan goals and ob- jectives, public relations, Career Awareness Program, and government relations strategy. The poll was conducted on behalf of APEGBC by market research firm, Insights West, with a representative sample of 810 adult British Columbians. The data was weighted to reflect the adult British Columbian population based on census data for region, age and gender. Potential respon- dents were screened out of the survey if they or a member of their immediate family was

Generally speaking, do you tend to have a great deal of respect, a fair amount of respect, not much respect or very little respect for each of the following professions? Generally speaking, do you tend to have a great deal of respect, a fair amount of respect, not much respect or very little respect for each of the following professions?

96%

Architects Engineers Doctors

56%

90%

33%

88%

26%

87%

38%

Politicians Lawyers Journalists Geoscientists Teachers Accountants Police O cers

81%

17%

80%

38%

79%

24%

11%

65%

11%

62%

an engineer or a geoscientist. Respect for Engineers and Geoscientists Remains High

2%

24%

Asked to rate how much respect they had for 10 well known professions, respondents

A great deal of respect

A fair amount of respect

2 4

J AN UA R Y/ F E B R UA R Y 2 015

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