Enhancing Accessibility in the Engineering Profession

Written by Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) Friday, 17 February 2012 13:30

The engineering profession in Ontario is now even more accessible to newcomers, thanks to the most significant changes made to the Professional Engineers Act in over 25 years.

In October 2010, Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) welcomed the passage of Bill 68, legislation that included the first major amendments to the Professional Engineers Act since 1984. The Open for Business Act, 2010 is a wide-ranging piece of legislation focusing on economic competitiveness, labour mobility and administrative enhancement. The act contains more than 100 amendments to legislation from 10 ministries and creates a more competitive business climate. The changes to the Professional Engineers Act increase the clarity, transparency, accountability and effectiveness of PEO’s work.

One amendment is making a significant difference in the lives of thousands of newcomers to Canada. The former requirement to be a citizen or to have the status of a permanent resident of Canada to obtain a licence to practise professional engineering has been eliminated.

“Elimination of the residency requirement improves access to the profession for all qualified applicants by helping to remove international borders from our licensing process,” said PEO President J. David Adams, P.Eng., MBA, FEC. “Newcomers are the talent pool for building a skilled and diverse Canadian workforce. As individuals, each of them brings a unique set of skills that leads to valuable and wide-ranging contributions to different fields of work.”

Despite PEO having completely eliminated application fees for internationally trained engineering graduates four years ago, some 60 per cent of those who apply for a professional engineer licence live in Canada for more than three years before they apply. PEO research found that a misunderstanding of the now eliminated residency requirement was the primary reason for this. Enabling the profession to issue licences based on qualifications without residency limitations is an important development. With the elimination of the residency requirement, qualified applicants can arrive in Canada with many of the requirements already met and be able to enter the engineering workforce sooner.

This also means United States citizens can apply for a full professional engineer (P.Eng.) licence in Ontario, where previously they could obtain only a project-specific temporary licence if they wished to practise engineering in the province.

The elimination of the residency requirement won the endorsement of former Ontario Citizenship and Immigration Minister Eric Hoskins, MD, who wrote to the province’s immigrant serving agencies in 2011 alerting them to the change. In his letter, then-Minister Hoskins said the change creates a more competitive business climate while making it easier for internationally trained engineering professionals to work in Ontario.

Engineers in Ontario are part of a community of professionals committed to enhancing the quality of life, safety and well-being of all Ontarians. PEO is proud that among its 75,000 licence holders are individuals from around the world whose distinctive perspectives help to enrich the lives of us all.

For more information on how to become a professional engineer in Ontario, visit www.peo.on.ca.