Hi,

We are currently awaiting our medical instruction for our PR visas and so I have started looking to send my CV to relevant companies and have a list to do so. I thought I would look at getting my qualifications recognised and went to the website CICIC.ca and found the following statement about engineering technologists (my canadian equivalent job role)

"Under Alberta's Engineering, Geological and Geophysical Professions Act, Registered Professional Technologists - Engineering must be ASET members to engage in a defined scope of engineering practice as registered by the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA)."

I went to the ASET website but you can't apply until you have landed. I have an apprenticeship, ONC, HNC in mechanical engineering and 10 years experience. How do I go about looking for a job if I can't get my qualifications recognised until I land? Or am I being really stupid and there is another way?


Confuuuuuused

Hi, probably posted this a bit early or if not I have made no sense at all?

My understanding is that in most provinces 'Engineer' is a professionally regulated job. My recollection from the UK was that pretty much anyone could call themselves an engineer but if you were a professional engineer then you had to be a chartered engineer i.e. a member of a preoffsional regulatory organisation like the IEE or institute of structural engineers etc. which you did either by having a degree that was credited by that institute or by passing their exams and doing the requisite work experience.

I think the difference in Canada is that you can't all yourself an engineer at all unless you are a member of the professional body and to add confusion it is different in each province/territory and not neccessarily portable, so if you are a PEng in Ontario you might not be able to practice as an engineer in B.C.

From what I have read even chartered engineers from the UK have problems getting anytihng recognized in most provinces and there are very few reciprical agreements so it is basically a case of having to satisfy the professional body's requirements which are usually exams and work experience in Canada and no doubt lots of fees to do it. So if that is the case you can't equate it from outside Canada as you need to do all the stuff in Canada.

To avoid all that you would need to work in a non regulated job category, e.g. instead of being an electronics engineer you might be a technician or something but no doibt not being a professional engineer would block you from any areas of higher engineering responsibility where the professional designation is a requirement.

I think you will find that if you search the forum you will find many engineering/qualification equivilance type threads and a lot of people who have pretty much just abandoned it and done something else with their experience due to the time and expense to re-qualify and the difficulty of getting the needed Canadian experience without being a professional engineer in the first place, vicious circle type situation.

I think outside any technical role where an equivilence is more significant then the whole getting your qualifications certified as the Canadian equivilent isn't really that important. I just put my degree and university on my resume and I think enough people in Canada have heard of the UK and most major cities e.g. Manchester to consider the UK degree just the same as a north american one as far as the fact you have one if they are looking for it as part of their job requirements. Some places want no UK type things like GPAs and stuff but I think for a lot of North Americans they have a good respect for UK higher education and like seeing it on a resume. I think the educational equivilance thing is much more important if you are coming from a non English country and especially one people are unfamiliar with and have no idea if the qualification is worth anything.

Is your HNC recognised by the Engineering Council-UK for Incorporated Engineer purposes? (check their database).

If so, it should be acceptable in Canada under the Sydney Accord.