ASSOCIATION
Members and the Public Perceive APEGA Positively, New Research Reveals
in 2011. As well, 91 per cent said our role as a self-regulator was valuable, up six percentage points from three years ago. Similarly, 91 per cent said that discipline is a valuable function, a jump of eight percentage points. When considering performance and value for roles and functions, Members identified five primary strengths and three primary weaknesses. PRIMARY STRENGTHS Relatively High Performance and Relatively High Value • Maintaining self-regulation • Determining who is qualified to be licensed • Investigating infractions and disciplining Members • Acting in the public interest • Establishing agreements with other licensing agencies PRIMARY WEAKNESSES Relatively Low Performance and Relatively High Value • Assisting Members in the practice of their professions • Providing opportunities to stay current • Promoting the professions to the public A relationship exists between familiarity with APEGA’s roles and functions and perceptions of strength in value and performance. That suggests that continuing to build Member familiarity with our roles and functions could have a positive impact on Members’ perceptions of value and performance. When it comes to engagement, Members are notably more engaged with their professions than they are with APEGA. Three- quarters of Members said they feel engaged with their profession, while only 34 per cent said they feel engaged with APEGA. While perceptions of engagement with APEGA are low, positive responses did go up five percentage points from 2011. Member perceptions about the career advantages of being a professional have also improved. In total, 87 per cent of Members said their designation offers career advantages, up from 82 per cent in 2011. The perception remains higher for P.Eng.s (89 per cent) than for P.Geo.s (69 per cent).
Member perceptions about APEGA are generally positive and have trended upwards in numerous categories, recent research suggests. The public, too, continues to hold the regulator in high regard. Even though we received good news in two Ispos Reid surveys, there’s a lot to learn from the findings. Results will inform our strategic, business, and budget planning, as well as help us set programs and initiatives for 2016 and beyond. Most Members of APEGA believe the regulator is performing well in key areas like licensing, self-regulation, and discipline, the 2014 research conducted on behalf of APEGA found. As well, the percentage of Members surveyed who expressed overall satisfaction in the Association has jumped nine points since 2011. Ipsos Reid conducted two surveys — an email survey of Members and an online survey of the public — to gauge perceptions about the professions and the Association. Similar surveys were conducted in 2006 and 2011. A total of 7,518 Members took part in the Member survey, most of them Professional Engineers, Professional Geoscientists, and Members-in-Training. The results suggest that an increasing number of Members believe we’re fulfilling our mandate as a self-regulating professional association. Overall Member satisfaction with APEGA is up to 64 per cent from 55 per cent in 2011, but there’s still a big variation by designation: 69 per cent of Professional Engineers are satisfied with APEGA, compared with 44 per cent of Professional Geoscientists. More Members are finding more value in their APEGA membership than in the past, the results suggest. The percentage in that category was 69 per cent in 2014, up from 61 per cent in 2011. By designation, 73 per cent of Professional Engineers and 47 per cent of Professional Geoscientists say their membership is valuable. Members were asked to evaluate 17 of APEGA’s roles and functions. For the most part, awareness of APEGA’s roles and functions is high, with at least eight in 10 Members saying they were aware of 12 of the 17 roles and functions evaluated. Not surprisingly, the three roles and functions deemed most valuable by more than nine in 10 Members were: • determining who is qualified to be licensed • maintaining the self-regulation of our professions • investigating and disciplining infractions Survey data suggest that 93 per cent of Members consider our role in licensing professionals valuable to them, up from 88 per cent
PROGRESS WITH THE PUBLIC
The public survey found that Albertans continue to view Professional Engineers and Professional Geoscientists in a positive
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