Terri-Jane Yuzda














 

 

The Years Ahead

 


BY RON TENOVE, P.ENG.
APEGGA President


Welcome to 2003! By the time you read this edition of The PEGG, I suspect your commitment to New Year's resolutions has come and gone. Nevertheless, I hope each of you took the time to revisit your three-to-five-year plan as you get ready for the future.

APEGGA starts the new year with several course adjustments that will serve us well as we move forward on the strategic directions set forth in the APEGGA Business Plan.

· President Elect Mike Smyth, P.Eng., is defining the scope of his leadership priorities, having attended the CCPE meeting of association/ordre presidents in November.

· Executive Director and Registrar Neil Windsor, P.Eng., has unveiled a reorganization of the APEGGA management structure, which will streamline and focus activities on two areas - legislated responsibilities, and development of corporate and member services.

· Geoscience members will soon have a Calgary-based geosciences manager working within APEGGA. This person will provide leadership in registration, communication and services to geologists and geophysicists.

· The Calgary office has been relocated and a very functional conference centre added, which will provide a meeting place and an improved profile for the 55 per cent of our members residing in the Calgary region.

For myself, as the term enters the last segment, there is a lot to do to further enhance the visibility and effectiveness of our professions in the provincial economy and national landscape.

· Mobility - the process of making it more expeditious for engineers and geoscientists in good standing to practice in other jurisdictions - will be at the forefront. In February, meetings of the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region will bring legislators and association representatives together from Alberta, B.C., Yukon, Alaska and the four northwestern states to table the merits of a P.E.-equals-P.Eng. bilateral agreement.

· A guideline for the NAFTA Agreement on mobility of engineers has been approved in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

· Geoscientists are working aggressively to improve mobility across Canada. Between Ontario and Quebec, inter-provincial movement without registration compliance is allowed for limited work periods.

· CCPE has received federal funds to develop a model, Consideration to Integration, to better facilitate the immigration of foreign skilled engineers into Canada. The project is aimed at assisting interested, qualified persons to determine the opportunities available, and then integrating them into the workplace and community destinations.

· APEGGA and the Consulting Engineers of Alberta are exploring means to increase awareness of users of consulting services on "getting value for money" and better understanding of engineering value.

· APEGBC and ASTTBC are moving forward with their application to government to have engineers, geoscientists and technologists under one act. The CCPE Technologists Task Force (which the APEGGA president is a member of) is facilitating national awareness and input on this issue.

· More provincial engineering associations are expanding their advocacy perspective as the public expresses increasing interest in the views of engineers on technology advancement; solutions for improving environmental sustainability and the more efficient use of resources; and much more.

Speaking of the future, have you speculated lately on what changes will occur during your career and the raising of your family? When you consider all the hype generated by best selling demographic futurists, it is either pretty scary or a real opportunity - depending on your mood of the day.

A friend of mine, Larry Staples, P.Eng., recently sent me an article he wrote in 1992 speculating on changes to the engineering workplace in 2017. Note how many have occurred in just 10 years, not 25.

· Energy efficient electric car transportation
· Laser scanning of palm/eye for security access
· Job sharing and three-day weekends (I wish)
· Use of interactive videos for public consultation surveys
· Laser disks with capacity to hold three slide presentations
· Interactive work stations to video-conference with team members around the globe
· Computers with 4GB memory, holographic displays and fully interactive

Back in 1992, a task force on the future of engineering (and geosciences) also made some predictions of the skills needed to stay at the forefront; these too have become essential in our everyday professional work and community environment.

· Engineers, geologists and geophysicists will evolve into technology and team managers

· Communication and people management skills will be of utmost importance

· EGGs will increasingly deliver innovative solutions to non-routine problems with the focus on net benefit to society

· EGGs will interpret technology for the public (is this advocacy?)

· Continuing education will not be optional to maintain competence and professional stature

Maybe it is time for each of us to speculate about the unimaginable, divide the ramp-up time by three and get prepared. I believe the exercise will serve you and our professions well.

I look forward to dialoguing with you - on these or other matters that arise -- during my President's Visits around Alberta, over the next two months.

HIGHLIGHT BOX 1:

SITES TO VISIT

www.pnwer.org
for information on the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region

www.apeg.bc.ca
for information on the APEGBC/ASTBC merger proposal

www.ccpe.ca
for information on the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers


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