INNOVATION January-February 2017

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Survey Results Track Salary Shifts for BC Engineers and Geoscientists APEGBC conducts a member compensation and benefits survey every two years. The primary intent of the results reported is to provide information 68.1 percent, with a median base-salary increase of 58.5 percent. The survey data and exhibits reported

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provide general benchmarks and can be used by APEGBC members as a guideline for comparing his or her compensation with overall industry values. However, compensation values should be determined and calculated by the level of responsibility for the position in question. Because of this, prediction of compensation based on any single factor is difficult due to market forces and general economic conditions. Members are advised that caution should be exercised. The 2016 Report on Members’ Compensation and Benefits includes the survey results, their limitations, and benchmark employment descriptions. Find the report at apeg.bc.ca/Careers/ Compensation-Survey. If you have not already done so, you can determine your own responsibility point value by using APEGBC's Employment Responsibility Evaluation, also available via the above webpage.

on base annual compensation, total annual compensation, and other non- monetary benefits earned by APEGBC members who are employed in full-time positions in British Columbia. According to the 2016 survey results, the median base salary reported for the entire survey sample has increased by three percent since 2014. For all respondents and all responsibility point levels, the median base salary is $94,000, and ranges from a low of $60,000 at the 200- to 249-point responsibility level to $165,000 at the 800+ point responsibility level. As well, based on the 2,106 responses received, the change in median responsibility level from EIT to P.Eng. increased 65.3 percent, correlating to a median base salary increase of 61.5 percent. For GIT-to-P. Geo. responsibility levels, the change in median responsibility level increased

Retorts capture mercury gas, condense it and collect it for reuse. They reduce mercury-gas

exposure by up to 90 percent. P hoto , Dr. Marcello Veiga, P.Eng.

“Today, we have three so-called formalisation sub-contracts with small-scale mining associations gathering around 200 locals that have become miners,” Gray says. Gold mining is no different to other economic sectors where large and small producers co-exist, like fisheries or agriculture. “We will sign other contracts very soon, hoping to reach 500 miners.” Continental Gold has helped lower production costs and increase profits by milling the artisanal miners’ ore in its facilities, recovering twice as much gold than the individual, make-shift plants. The company also helps the miners commercialise their gold—so they don’t fall prey to illicit groups—and assist with environmental and safety standards. Progress at Buriticá shows formalisation can work. However, both Veiga and CIRDI’s staff stress that the hard work of education and organisation must come first. Eliminating mercury from the process is a priority and, while formalising approximately 16 million artisanal gold miners worldwide seems impossible, sustainable mining will help lift vulnerable people out of poverty. In this, Veiga, Stevens, and other BC engineers and geoscientists are contributing their expertise and playing important roles. v

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