REGULATORY
Job Title Housekeeping
APEGA builds and maintains public trust by striving to ensure that only Members use our titles and designations. Are you and your employer doing your part?
QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING
APEGA is reaching out to some of our Permit Holders in 2016 to encourage them to make an extra effort to use our titles and desig- nations correctly. Employees and contractors must be licensed by APEGA if they practise engineering and geoscience in Alberta — or use job titles and designations associated with APEGA licensure. Anyone who uses P.Eng. or P.Geo. must have met APEGA’s academic, professional, and ethical standards, and must be a licensed Member. The same applies to most uses of words like engineer and geoscientist in job titles. Those who use them illegally are subject to action from APEGA and could even end up in court. Why do we care and why should you care? One of our mandates as the Alberta regulator of engineering and geoscience is to protect the public from the misuse of these reserved titles. Members and Permit Holders share that responsibility. In 2016 we’ll be getting in touch with some of our Permit Holders directly through their Responsible Members and their human resources departments. Responsible Members are professionals who make sure that their company adheres to the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act (EPG Act), Regulations and Bylaws . Human resources departments also need to know the rules, because they are involved in hiring and often develop or assign job titles.
You can do some job title housekeeping right now. To help ensure your company complies with right-to- title provisions in the EGP Act , you and your human resources department should be answering yes to the following questions: • Do your engineering or geoscience job postings specify that individuals must be licensed by APEGA or be eligible for an APEGA licence? • Are job applicants who say they’re engineers or geoscientists actually licensed by APEGA? Check names in the Member Directory at apega.ca • Are employees who don’t practise engineering or geoscience using titles that comply with the EGP Act? • Do only employees licensed with APEGA have terms like engineer or geologist in their job titles? Check names in the Member Directory at apega.ca • Are only employees licensed with APEGA using reserved designations like P.Eng., P.Geo., E.I.T., and G.I.T.? Check names in the Member Directory at apega.ca • Are your Members-in-Training (M.I.T.s) — that is, Engineers- in-Training (E.I.T.s) and Geoscientists-in-Training (G.I.T.s) — working under the supervision of Professional Members of APEGA?
SIDEBAR
PROTECT THE PROFESSIONS
You can be an active compliance advocate in several ways: • Stay informed of the importance and roles of APEGA licences, permits, titles, and designations • Report reserved title or practice violations to compliance@apega.ca or by calling 1-800-661-7020 and asking for the Compliance Department • Pass on the information published here to fellow Members and the public
Help protect our professions. Do you know of a person or organization practising engineering or geoscience in Alberta without an APEGA licence or permit? Do you know of unlicensed persons or organizations using reserved titles or designations, or otherwise advertising or suggesting they’re licensed to practise? Please let us know. Complaints can be anonymous, and they’re confidential. If the individual isn’t licensed, let us know by emailing compliance@apega.ca or by calling 1-800-661-7020 and asking for the Compliance Department.
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