By: SEBASTIAN WAlROND P.ENG. PMP – PDC CHAIR
Last December, I attended a forum hosted by APEGS where various provincial self-regulating bodies presented their respective professional development (PD) programs and where they stand on the reporting of these activities.
We already know that nine of the 14 engineering and geoscience bodies across Canada have mandatory reporting of professional development activities but I thought we should look at our provincial environment to identify any trends with similar organizations.
The table on the next page gives a summary of where these organizations stand and it is not difficult to identify a common denominator with at least two trends.
The first trend is the establishment of a program geared to keep the membership current and up to date in that profession. As an association, we also have a clearly outlined program for professional development where members are required to obtain 80 credits annually or 240 credits over a three-year window using at least three of six categories.
The second trend is the overwhelming tendency to be transparent and have the membership report on their PD activities. Clearly the trend that exists nationally is no different from what is taking place within our province in other self-regulated professions.
Our 2016 reporting numbers are in and not much has changed from 2015, where we continue to see only one out of four APEGS members taking the time to report their professional development credits. It seems reporting PD activities continues to be a low priority for most of our members who may not understand the risks to self-regulation this behaviour places on our association and professions.
As the regulatory body, APEGS needs to be able to confirm to its stakeholders (i.e. the public and the government) that its members are competent. APEGS is confident that members are participating appropriately in professional development activities but currently has no method of proving it. Therefore, at the request of Council, the Professional Development Committee is working on an implementation plan towards mandatory reporting and has started on an education and awareness campaign on the need for such a measure.
