DRIVING ALBERTA FORWARD
FAIR REGISTRATION PRACTICES ACT
OUR COMMITMENT TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT All membership applications are reviewed by the APEGA Board of Examiners (BOE), a volunteer board comprising APEGA professionals and three government-appointed public members. Applications are diverse and often complex. Since 2019, APEGA has made various changes to significantly reduce our application processing timelines by optimizing our processes and resources: •We are continually recruiting new BOE volunteers to review applications. •We use a risk-based approach to review applications: › APEGA staff sends out decisions for straightforward applications once a review is completed in accordance with BOE policies and practices, rather than waiting for the monthly BOE meeting (reducing the average processing time for these applications by about six weeks). › Complex applications are discussed at the monthly BOE meetings. •APEGA professional staff, overseen by the BOE, helps conduct academic assessments. •The BOE refuses applications with significant academic deficiencies, ensuring BOE resources are used efficiently and resulting in more timely decisions for all applicants. •Five additional permanent staff members have been added to the Registration Department since 2020. •Academics and experience are now reviewed at the same time for many applications, which helps reduce the overall review time. •Improved monitoring software identifies applications approaching the 180-day deadline, so they can be given additional attention to move them through the process. •Improved IT support to the Registration Department has reduced delays with individual applications.
COMPETENCY-BASED ASSESSMENT: PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS Introduced in 2018, competency-based assessment (CBA) helps us: •Objectively evaluate each applicant’s ability to perform fundamental engineering tasks (geoscience applicants are evaluated using a different process). •Reduce barriers for applicants who gained their work experience outside Canada. APEGA engaged an independent consultant in 2022 to evaluate the overall CBA framework. Following their recommendations, and starting in 2023, we will improve our CBA tool by simplifying written content to provide greater clarity— for applicants, staff, and examiners—on required competencies and indicators.
17 84
apega.ca
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker