Member Professional Development Requirements

Under the APEGBC Code of Ethics, members are responsible for undertaking Continuing Professional Development (CPD) that is relevant to their practice.

As self-regulating professionals, employers, clients, the government and the public expect APEGBC members to maintain the highest level of competency. Across all regulated professions and throughout Canada, numerous models exist to ensure that professionals stay up to date on current practices.

APEGBC has developed a CPD Guideline outlining expectations with respect to the types of activities and amount of professional development that practicing members should be undertaking. Compliance with the CPD Guideline is recommended but not mandatory. Members who choose to comply with this Guideline can indicate this on their Annual Dues form or by logging into the APEGBC Member Portal and clicking on "CPD Reporting" from the portal menu.

New CPD Guideline

APEGBC’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Guideline has been revised to align with the requirements of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA). Council approved the revised CPD guideline for release at its February 2011 meeting and the new guideline is effective January 2012. Compliance with the guideline is recommended but not mandatory.

Understanding the New CPD guideline

To help inform members about the new requirements, the following video highlights the requirements of the CPD guideline, provides members with information on the many ways to gain CPD hours and demonstrates the ease of reporting CPD.

Why is there a new CPD guideline?

Last Spring, members were asked to provide feedback on the current CPD guideline requirements through a member survey. The survey results indicated that members wanted a program that is harmonized with other jurisdictions, preferred an hourly requirement that can be spread over a number of years, and supported adding professional practice as a category of activity, similar to Alberta’s requirements. In response to this feedback, Council directed that the CPD guideline be amended to align with the APEGGA requirements.

Alberta, along with Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island have mandatory CPD programs that require members to accumulate 240 Professional development hours (PDHs) over a three-year period and include credit for professional practice.

What are the key differences between the new guideline and the current guideline?

The current guideline requires members to accumulate 90 PDHs over a three-year period and does not allow credit for professional practice (work). The new guideline requires members to accumulate 240 PDHs over a three-year period and allows members to claim 150 PDHs for professional practice (work). 15 hours of work equals one PDH.

In the new guideline, the category Presentations and Contributions to Knowledge has been divided into two separate categories.

New CPD Guideline for 2012 (effective January 1, 2012)

New CPD Guideline for 2012 - FAQ

Designated Structural Engineers

Designated Structural Engineers are required to submit yearly reports of Continuing Professional Development and Continuing Active Practice. Forms for these can be found below:

Continuing Active Practice Declaration

Continuing Professional Development Form

For more information on the CPD requirements of the Designated Structural Engineer program, please click on Continuing Competence Requirements.

For more information about APEGBC's Continuing Professional Development program, click on any of the following:

Background Information
Professional Engineers and Professional Geoscientists registered with APEGBC are expected to maintain their competence under the Code of Ethics:

Tenet Six

Professional Engineers and Professional Geoscientists shall keep themselves informed in order to maintain their competence, strive to advance the body of knowledge within which they practice and provide opportunities for the professional development of their associates.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a requirement, but the amount of CPD expected has generally been left to the discretion of each member.

In June 2003, APEGBC undertook a member survey on the concept of CPD Reporting. At this time, the CPD Committee began developing criteria for a CPD reporting program for APEGBC Members. In February 2005, the CPD Committee presented a draft CPD Guideline to Council. The guideline was developed after extensive benchmarking of programs from other Canadian jurisdictions and other professions.

In June 2005, Council approved the release of the draft CPD Guideline in order to solicit feedback from members. While members have varying opinions on what CPD should look like in the future, the general consensus is that ongoing professional development is a necessary part of maintaining professional competence.

Based on feedback from members, revisions were made to the draft document and in September 2006, Council approved the Continuing Professional Development Guideline. Compliance with this Guideline is recommended but not mandatory.

In September 2009, members were asked to vote on a bylaw that would make compliance with the continuing professional development requirements mandatory for members of APEGBC. The bylaw received 57.7% support, falling short of the two-thirds required to pass.

In April 2010, members were asked to provide feedback on the CPD requirements through a member survey. The survey results indicated that members wanted a program that is harmonized with other jurisdictions, preferred an hourly requirement that can be spread over a number of years, and supported adding professional practice as a category of activity, similar to Alberta’s requirements. In response to this feedback, Council directed that the CPD guideline be amended to align with the requirements of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA).

APEGBC’s CPD Guideline has been revised to align with the requirements APEGGA. Council approved the revised CPD guideline for release at its February 2011 meeting and the new guideline will take effect January 2012. Compliance with the guideline is recommended but not mandatory. The new guideline can be viewed at www.apeg.bc.ca/go/cpdguideline.

Contact us via email, phone or fax – APEGBC's CPD Staff will be pleased to answer any questions and to forward your concerns and suggestions to the CPD Committee and Council.

Email: cpd@apeg.bc.ca
Phone: 604-430-8035 or 1-888-430-8035 (toll free)
Fax: 604-430-8085

Current CPD Committee Members:

D.I. (David) Harvey, P.Eng. Struct.Eng. (Structural) (Chair)
T. (Tejas) Goshalia, P.Eng. (Structural)
M.R. (Bob) Ito, P.Eng. (Electrical & Computer Engineering)
M. (Mahmoud) Mahmoud, P.Eng. (Geotechnical)
L. (Leonard) Pianalto, P.Eng. (Structural)
A.L. (Alexander) Rosemann, P.Eng. (Electric & Gas Utilities)