President’s Notebook
APEGA
research groups seeking solutions in enhanced oil recovery and greenhouse gas mitigation, especially at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary. We have the engineering and geoscience capacity available in this province to provide solutions for the world. We are more than an oil and gas province, even though the industry has dominated our consciousness. It’s a highly technical industry, and much of the expertise we’ve learned is transferable to other situations in other countries. Many of the complementary skills we’ve learned, as project managers and leaders, are also applicable elsewhere. Look at our can-do spirit and the accomplishments it has spawned. One of the world’s biggest engineering and geoscience feats is the development of our oil sands. Our success in this area may not always be politically correct to celebrate, but its impressiveness, and its economic and technological impact, are undeniable. We keep getting more efficient and environmentally innovative in the way we mine the oil sands. The reclamation work there continues to improve. The economic impact of the oil sands has rippled across the country and, through foreign investment, around the planet. Most of you know all about outsourcing and the effect it can have on professional staffing levels in major engineering and geoscience companies. Well, the Internet goes both ways (no surprise there). Other countries may be able to offer us inexpensive engineering and geoscience. What we have to offer them is high-end engineering and geoscience, developed hand-in-hand with strong self-regulation.
Some challenges require something better than a low-cost alternative, and those are jobs we’re qualified for. Many of you will be familiar with the term the Alberta Advantage. As a recap, here’s my take on what makes up today’s Alberta Advantage: 1. We have among the highest concentrations of engineering and geoscience talent in the world. 2. Alberta has attracted much of the top talent in our professions, from around the world and from across Canada. 3. Immigrants have brought with them the business and cultural know-how of a mosaic of cultures. Diverse, globalized teams of APEGA professionals are already here, just as the world begins to appreciate their value. 4. We are one of the few countries with mandatory licensing of engineering and geoscience. Our professionals are qualified and deemed competent by APEGA, and we hold them accountable to our Code of Ethics . The diversification of the economy of this province should be accomplished through the acknowledgment and recognition of our capabilities and talent. We should position ourselves to offer technical innovation and leadership as a high-performing member of the global community. I am talking about a long play here, but I am suggesting that someday soon, ideas like this will be well worth further investigation from our provincial and national governments. We don’t need a major out- migration of engineers and geoscientists. We need to keep the expertise we have and make sure it has a valued, well-deserved, and impactful place on the world stage.
LINKS
America’s Engineering Hubs: Forbes Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance Canada’s Next Green Energy Hub
Questions or comments? president@apega.ca
6 | PEG WINTER 2018
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