INNOVATION March-April 2016

reg i s t ra t i o n

Pilot Program Permits Licensees to Bridge to Professional Status Challenging and rigorous, the bridging process is designed to help ensure successful candidates meet the requirements of a professional engineer. “Licensees will need to have commitment and rigour to pursue this route,” says Rigolo. Engineering licensees might opt for the bridging program to advance their careers or as a means to open the door to a broader range of projects and responsibilities. At this time, the pilot applies only to engineering licensees, but Rigolo says the intent is to broaden it to APEGBC geoscience licensees. The program that APEGBC is piloting is similar to those of other regulatory bodies elsewhere, which provide bridging systems or programs for licensees to gain full professional status. v

APEGBC has developed a pilot bridging program that is designed to allow qualified and experienced Engineering Licensees (Eng.L.'s) to demonstrate that they have met the requirements for full professional status and help them obtain a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) designation. In order to be considered for this pilot program, candidates must already meet the following criteria: • They must be an Eng.L. in good standing; - They must have obtained a minimum of a two-year diploma in science or technology in engineering, applied science, science or technology; - They must have a low-risk profile, which means that all of their references are positive, at least two of the references are from P.Engs that practice in the same field and at least one is a supervisor who is a P.Eng.; • They must have at least 10 years of well-documented, progressive engineering experience, including at least four years as an Eng.L, at least one year working in a Canadian engineering environment, and have attained a position that demonstrates the competencies of a P.Eng. The bridging program requires engineering licensees to also complete the following requirements to be considered for a P.Eng. designation: • They must pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) and Professional Engineers (PE) exams or other suitable exam protocol set by a Board of Examiners; • They must execute an engineering project based on their area of practice and on a topic assigned by a technical panel, prepare a technical project

report, and pass an interview by an APEGBC panel of experienced engineers about the report. “Basically, they have to design and conduct a technical thesis project and defend it in front of an interview committee,” says APEGBC Associate Director of Engineering Admissions Mark Rigolo, P.Eng. “However, instead of their project being based on university course work, the project is based on work experience.” The report and defense are judged on the extent to which the candidate demonstrates clear understanding of engineering principles and key technical aspects relating to the topic assigned that one would normally expect from someone graduating with a four-year bachelor’s degree in engineering or applied science.

Advance your team. Do you have an experienced practitioner on your team with a science degree or an engineering diploma? They could be a candidate to become an Engineering Licensee . An Eng.L. can take full professional responsibility within their scope of practice, bringing increased value to your team.

For more information contact Mark Rigolo at mrigolo@apeg.bc.ca .

apeg.bc.ca

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