PROGRESS AND RENEWAL
THREE LEVELS OF ASSESSMENT An applicant’s proficiency in each of the 22 competen- cies will be rated three times. First, applicants will self-assess their competen- cies. This allows them to think critically about their experience and become partners in the application process. Each applicant must then send each competency to an appropriate validator — someone who can validate the assessment by applying direct knowledge of the technical details of the applicant’s work experience The application will be assessed by one or more Professional Engineer assessors. An assessor is on APEGA staff or is a volunteer with extensive experience in the applicant’s discipline. Next, the application will be presented to the APEGA Board of Examiners (BOE) for evaluation and a decision . Made up of volunteers (most of them Professional Members but also including public representatives), the board decides whether to register an applicant, or defer or refuse the application. WHY CBA? CBA is a more consistent way for the BOE to determine whether candidates meet Alberta qualification standards. Here’s how it worked before. We asked Professional Member and engineering Licensee applicants to describe at least 48 months of previous work tasks on a document called the Work Experience Record (WER). After the applicant’s references verified their work experience, the Board of Examiners determined what level of expertise each task demonstrated. Back-and-forth with staff often resulted, because applicants needed assistance to document their work experience in an way that the board would understand. This extended processing times. CBA will help us meet targets for foreign qualification recognition set last fall by the federal Forum of Labour Market Ministers. Federal, provincial and territorial ministers asked regulators like APEGA to achieve initial foreign qualifications decisions within
Applicants are given a list of indicators for each competency. The indicators are examples of work situations an applicant can use to demonstrate competence. For each competency, applicants must provide at least one actual situation, plus several actions or details, making it specific to their experience. Finally, applicants must summarize the outcome of each situation, highlighting how their actions contributed to its overall success. Here’s an example. In the technical competence category, applicants are asked to demonstrate their competence in the application of theory, to show how they’ve applied engineering knowledge to design solutions. The indicators for this competency are: • prepare technical specifications • demonstrate use of theory and calculations to arrive at solutions • demonstrate the development of a unique design solution which could not be accomplished with a standard design solution An applicant with experience as a substation designer might submit the following situation as an example: I was responsible for designing the ground grid for a 120kV substation. The design required additional research and design work because of high soil resistivity, limited real estate, and very high fault levels. This situation would involve several actions, which the applicant might describe like this: For the ground grid I reviewed a number of research publications. Instead of just adding extra conductors to a standard ground grid, I used variable spacing based on the research, considering the impact of soil resistivity. This allowed me to adjust the mesh density to obtain maximum performance by effective reduction of grid resistance. To deal with the issue of potential high touch voltages, I specified different crushed rock fill to provide for higher surface resistivity. This included considering the impact of weather and moisture variations with the seasons. The resulting outcome might be: The final design met the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and hydro standards applicable to the substation installation and provided for the most cost- effective resolution of a challenging design-build.
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