Innovation-March_April 2013

n ews New Website Aims to Better Prepare Newcomers to Canada for Engineering Careers

A new website launched by Engineers Canada and funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada provides international engineering graduates with a comprehensive and clear source of information about how to become a licensed engineer in Canada. The website, accessible at newcomers.engineerscanada.ca, was created to help international engineering graduates overcome barriers to integration. In many cases, newcomers to Canada lack important informa- tion about the licensure process in Canada, and are unaware of how long it may take or that requirements can differ from province to province. Written in clear, plain language for people whose first language may not be English or French, the website is intended to help users make more informed career decisions before coming to Canada. It offers practical information on topics such as getting licensed, finding suitable employment and integrating into the Canadian engineering profession, as well as guidance on the im- migration process and adapting to Canadian culture. For example, through the site’s Academic Information Tool, po- tential engineering licensure applicants can see how their under- graduate education compares to Canadian engineering programs and if their education is sufficient to begin the process of becoming

licensed. In doing so, they’ll gain a better understanding into how their specific backgrounds translate to the Canadian environment. The launch of this website coincides with changes made to the Government of Canada’s Federal Skilled Worker Program, which selects immigrants based on their ability to succeed economically in Canada. These changes include an increased emphasis on a person’s language proficiency, and the comparative value of their education, among other factors. The Engineers Canada newcom- ers.engineerscanada.ca website provides potential immigrants with important information about what they need to know and do to navigate through the Federal Skilled Worker Program quickly and efficiently. “By having their language skills and foreign education cre- dentials assessed before their arrival to Canada,” says Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, “Foreign skilled workers will have a better sense of how their cre- dentials fit into the Canadian labour market and will be able to contribute their full skill set to the economy more quickly. " Engineers Canada is the national organization of the 12 pro- vincial and territorial associations that regulate the practice of engineering in Canada. APEGBC Explores Incidental Practice for Geoscientists Owing to the temporary and spontaneous nature of many geosci- ence projects, the concept of “incidental practice” has long been of particular interest to geoscientists in the mineral exploration and oil and gas industries. Amendments to the Engineers and Geosci- entsts Act brought into law in June 2012 included provisions au- thorizing APEGBC’s Council to enter into interprovincial practice agreements with other Canadian engineering and geoscience regu- lators. Under such agreements, engineers or geoscientists could be permitted to practice for a limited period of time in another jurisdiction without having to be registered there so long as the “home” and “host” jurisdictions were parties to an interprovincial incidental practice agreement. Under APEGBC’s current legal framework, and in accordance with the Agreement on Internal Trade, anyone who is registered as a professional geoscientist elsewhere in Canada is qualified, with very few exceptions, to be registered with APEGBC. Es- tablishing incidental practice rights further facilitates mobility, removing the necessity to register and pay fees in multiple juris- dictions, which is seen by many members and potential members as an unnecessary regulatory barrier and financial burden that provides no obvious additional public protection. For some time, Geoscientists Canada, the association of the provincial and territorial regulators of the geoscience profession, has been working to introduce an incidental practice agreement for all jurisdictions. The Geoscientists Canada Incidental Practice Task Force presented its report to stakeholders in June 2012; however at that time, some jurisdictions were opposed to the introduction of incidental practice. APEGBC’s Geoscience Committee has since recommended that APEGBC’s Council consider treating incidental practice agreements for geoscientists as a priority issue and has received

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