Career Advice Detail Asean

Engineering, Energy and Construction

Qualifying to Become an Engineer in Canada

The Engineers Canada website defines the practice of professional engineering as “any act of planning, designing, composing, evaluating, advising, reporting, directing or supervising, or managing any of the foregoing that requires the application of engineering principles and that concerns the safeguarding of life, health, property, economic interests, the public welfare or the environment.”

In other words, you use your engineering education and experience to do work to the best of your ability, without harmful impact to others or the environment.

Having your licence lets people know you are a qualified engineer who meets provincial/territorial standards. It means you have the academic and experience requirements to perform your job safely and produce reliable work of the highest quality, and that you are committed to upholding the values, ethics and principles of the profession.

The engineering profession is regulated in Canada. It is illegal to practise as an engineer or to use the title "engineer" without being licensed as a professional engineer with a provincial or territorial association. However, individuals can do engineering work under the direct supervision of licensed professional engineers.

Provincial and territorial engineering regulatory bodies are responsible for setting the standards for entry into the profession and for issuing licences to those who meet established standards of qualifications and practice. Therefore, once you know where you will settle and work in Canada, you should contact the appropriate regulatory body for details on licensure procedures (See here).

The Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials provides valuable information on how an undergraduate education in engineering obtained outside Canada compares to a Canadian undergraduate education in engineering.
This is important, as the definition of engineering varies from one country to the next. Work and training that in some countries are called engineering and are linked to the job title of engineer may fall into a different job category in Canada.

Canadian Energy Sector Overview

Canada is the 5th largest producer of energy in the world, producing about 6% of global energy supplies. It is the world′s largest producer of natural uranium, producing one-third of global supply, and is also the world′s leading producer of hydro-electricity, accounting for 13% of global production. It is also a significant producer of petroleum, natural gas, and coal. Only Russia, the People′s Republic of China, the United States and Saudi Arabia produce more total energy than Canada.

A survey released by global consulting firm Mercer on Monday said the energy sector is forecast to experience a pay hike of 3.7 per cent in 2015, saying the pay increases are motivated by the oil and gas numbers, as well as the energy sector employers typically having bigger budgets than employers from the other sectors. (Sources: International Business Times)

Construction Overview

Construction is one of Canada’s largest and most important industries. From houses to skyscrapers, schools, hospitals, factories and shopping centres, construction also involves a wide variety of engineering projects including highways, nuclear power stations, dams, dredging, petrochemical plants and pipelines. Members of the construction industry put in place most of the capital investment of all other industries, governments, business and individual citizens. As a result, construction is both a production industry, providing the physical means for shelter and industrial development, and a service industry, with most work being carried out in response to orders and investment decisions of others.

It′s predicted that new construction investment in Canada will exceed $300 billion next year. Infrastructure has been the mainstay of Canadian construction, but the emphasis is now shifting from institutional work towards transit, pipelines and power generation, according to Construction Looking Forward, published by the Construction Sector Council (CSC) in February. The report forecast showed some of Canada’s largest infrastructure projects will drive growth in construction employment over the next 10 years. Forecast highlights include the following:

•A series of large resource and infrastructure projects create waves of employment in engineering construction, with increased demand in Northern Ontario over the near term to 2017 and steady growth in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to 2019.
•Commercial activity also rises in all regions, adding jobs.
•Industrial work recovers, slowly restoring employment levels. Growth in industrial and commercial sectors is strongest in the GTA.
•Institutional and road, highway and bridge work decline over the near term, but rise modestly over the medium term.
•Housing construction recovers from a 2013 low point, with recovery reaching new peaks between 2015 and 2017 in the GTA, and Northern and Central Ontario, creating the potential for temporary, cyclical labour shortages.
•Retirements result in the need to replace as many as 83,000 skilled workers over the next decade.

(Source: On-Site; Build Force)