februARY 2009 issue
Professional Practice & Ethics Corner
APEGGA members with professional practice or ethics questions are welcome to mail them to Ray Chopiuk, P.Eng., Director, Professional Practice, APEGGA, 1500 Scotia One, 10060 Jasper AVE NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 4A2; fax them to 780-426-1877; or e-mail them to rchopiuk@apega.ca. |
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Q I was laid off a few months ago. I went to the Calgary APEGGA office at that time to inquire if I needed to adjust my membership in any way. One of the administrative staff said I didn’t have to because the job market was good. Well, unfortunately, I’m still unemployed. The only professional development hours I’ve been able to collect during this time are volunteer hours and training. At this point, I don’t have any more cash flow for courses.
Can you please advise me on what I need to do to maintain my professional status so I may continue my job search? Does APEGGA offer career mentorship to more senior professional members?
A I’m sorry to hear that you are having difficulty finding employment. As far as maintaining your status as a professional member, here are some things to consider.
As long as you pay your annual dues, your registration as a professional member will continue in its present form. That won’t change unless you choose to submit a non-practicing declaration to be exempted from the requirements of the Continuing Professional Development Program. If you do that, you will relinquish your right to practice until such time as the Practice Review Board gives you permission to resume practice in response to an application that you would need to submit at some point.
You would still maintain your status as a professional member (e.g., P.Eng., P.Geol., P.Geoph., etc.), but you would need to acknowledge that you are non-practicing. Anyone looking at APEGGA’s web-based public register would readily see that.
It might not be necessary to submit a non-practicing declaration, however, as there are other options that could allow you to maintain your right to practice. I suspect that is what you really mean when you say “maintain my professional status.”
You may be able to claim sufficient professional development hours, or PDHs, that you carried forward in previous years. These can go toward the total of 240 hours that you need over a three-year period. There are members with professional development hours lower than the recommended annual average of 80 who have been able to make up the difference in subsequent years.
Remember: it’s not necessary to always show a minimum of 80 hours per year. The requirement is that you show 240 hours for the previous three years in total.
You might still be able to claim an adequate number of hours in the other five categories, recognizing that it is probably more difficult to do so without being able to claim in the “professional practice” category. There is no requirement to take more courses. Have a look at the Continuing Professional Development document, www.apega.ca/pdf/Guidelines/ProfessionalDevelopment.pdf, for more detailed information concerning “formal” versus “informal” activities. For example, you might be able to find seminars over one-half day in length that would qualify as formal activities and that you might not need to pay for.
As another option, you might be able to retain your right to practice while you are unemployed by submitting a written request to the Practice Review Board for special consideration (www.apega.ca/Regulatory/pdf/CPD/SpecialConsiderationRequest.pdf) to have your annual number of hours reduced to 30. If the board grants the request, you would usually be able to claim those PDHs in any of the six categories.
Finally, APEGGA doesn’t offer career counselling, per se, for professional members. However, APEGGA’s website does provide several resources. You can also take advantage of the Association’s resumé referral service. Visit http://74.200.222.12/career/resources.htm for details.