Tina Maki, P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.), Director of Special Projects
Here are further details about the upcoming changes to experience reporting for Engineers-in-Training to Competency-Based Assessment (CBA). Please refer to full, approved bylaw text in a separate announcement in this issue of The Professional Edge.
What is Competency-Based Assessment?
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• Competencies are observable and measurable skills, knowledge, abilities, motivations or traits required for professional registration.
• They are demonstrated through the actions and behaviours of the applicant.
• CBA is the assessment of those competencies to determine if an applicant is qualified for registration as a professional engineer.
The Proposed Changes
• Come into effect January 1, 2019.
• APEGS is introducing a new online experience reporting tool to facilitate CBA for Engineers-in-Training.
• What constitutes acceptable engineering experience is not changing, we are simply better defining it.
• More quantitative, precise, objective, transparent and consistent measuring system.
• Increases the confidence of all who participate in the process: applicants, validators, employers and assessors on the Experience Review Committee.
• It is a more thorough explanation of your work experience in 34 competency examples from any of your past work experience. That is compared to the current 54 examples across three reports (18 points per report). Currently there are often more than 54 examples submitted because many applicants are submitting more than three reports.
Who it applies to
• Professional engineer applicants (i.e., engineers-in- training).
• You will use the new CBA system if, as of Jan 1, 2019 you are either:
• a current engineer-in-training, no experience reports submitted, or
• have applied to APEGS as an engineer-in-training on or after Jan 1, 2019.
• You are given the choice to use the current or new system if, as of Jan 1, 2019:
• you are a current engineer-in-training who has submitted one or more experience reports.
• you are encouraged and invited to switch to the online CBA system even if you have already submitted at least one experience report on the existing system.
How will CBA benefit me?
• Applicants will have greater confidence knowing what the requirements are and whether or not they have met them, even before they submit their work experience. Two reasons for this are being that the requirements are more thoroughly described with indicators, and there is an explicit rating scale that the applicant, validators and the assessors use.
• The reporting process is all online. Applicants enter their information in the appropriate boxes and validators get an automatic email with a link to access the system to review and rate the competency examples. APEGS staff are notified and assign assessors directly within the system. Assessors log into the same system and rate the submission. All entries are available for download at any time as a pdf.
CBA Framework
• 34 competencies from any past experience. This is different than our current system where you describe work experience from within specific time frames.
• Grouped into 7 categories.
• Provide one example per competency.
• Indicators for each competency – guidance on example content that will demonstrate the competency.
• Rating scale 0-5.
• Online submission – Interim and Final.
The Interim submission happens at about the two year mark and includes at least three of the 34 competencies. Once the Interim submission competencies are passed, they are fully complete and are not required on the final submission.
More Information
For full details, go to the APEGS website, www.apegs.ca, under Members, Competency-Based Assessment:
https://central.apegs.ca/Portal/Pages/competency-based-assessment
This web page also indicates who to call if you still have questions after you have reviewed the material online.
Competency Rating Scale (abbreviated summary)
0 – little or no exposure to the competency
1 – general appreciation and awareness
2 – knowledge and understanding of objectives, uses standard engineering methods, limited scope and complexity
3 – moderate scope and complexity
4 – responsible, varied assignments, working at a professional level
5 – mature professional level, independent
