REGULATORY
APEGA Plans 2016 Introduction of Competency-Based Assessment
The restructuring of this portion of APEGA’s licensure process, featuring web-based tools, will make the connection between engineering experience and competency clearer, more efficient, and more consistent
A new competency-based assessment (CBA) tool APEGA is now developing will be rolled out in late 2016, helping clarify and streamline the registration of engineering applicants — especially those from other countries. The CBA approach will enhance how we evaluate the work experience and competency of applicants, making the process more effective and efficient. Work began on the project early in 2015, and in March the Government of Alberta approved a partnership grant to support its creation and launch. We’re not starting from scratch, though. The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (APEGBC) officially adopted a CBA framework in June, after nine years of development and an 18-month pilot. We’re using the sister organization’s CBA as a model and starting point to build one customized for Alberta. Geoscientists Canada, meanwhile, is developing a competency profile for Professional Geoscientists. Once it’s complete, APEGA will look at adopting the profile. We anticipate rolling out a geoscience CBA system by early 2017. A CBA system will make it easier for applicants to understand the exact experience qualifications required for licensure and how their skills will be recognized in Alberta. It will also make it less complicated for the APEGA Board of Examiners — which evaluates applications — to determine whether candidates meet those standards. Competency-based assessment is one part of an overhaul of APEGA’s registration system that will continue for the next few years. The process for academic assessments is also being revamped, and a major part of that project is being launched this month. Starting January 14, Internationally Trained Applicants (ITAs) must contact World Education Services (WES) to obtain an academic credential evaluation report. WES will provide each ITA's report to APEGA and the report will be among the inputs used to assess each individual’s academic qualifications. While the APEGA Board of Examiners will continue to evaluate academic qualifications, the additional support provided through the WES report is expected to both expedite the process and improve decision making.
For more information on the academic assessment change, please visit apega.ca
CBA IN DETAIL CBA is about connecting experience to the actual competencies a Professional Engineer requires. In the B.C. model, applicants propose that they’re proficient in seven core competencies, connecting them to their own experience. These are skills that all Professional Engineers — regardless of discipline — must be proficient in to ensure effective and professional practice in the service of the public interest. Within the seven core competencies in B.C. are 33 required indicators. These are activities, actions, skills, or behaviours that an applicant could use to demonstrate a competency. To a certain level of expertise, applicants must demonstrate that they’ve attained the competencies and indicators within their experience. Under the technical competence core category, for example, B.C. applicants provide specific and detailed examples of: • how they applied an appropriate code or regulation to their work • why they used it • what the outcome was They’re also required to self-assess their level of proficiency on a five-point scale for each indicator. In APEGA’s current system, work experience is confirmed by three or more references. Under CBA, each competency listed by an applicant must be reviewed by a validator — someone familiar with the applicant’s work. Skills can be confirmed by one or more validators, depending on the applicant’s work history. Validators also rate the applicant’s level of proficiency on the same five-point scale used by applicants. The application goes to individual APEGA examiners for an initial review, then to the Board of Examiners itself for a final review and decision. ENHANCED CLARITY AND UNDERSTANDING Competency-based assessment makes the experience portion of assessment clearer, more understandable, and more consistent for applicants and the Board of Examiners. The new process will
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