MEMBER REGISTRATION
Frequently Asked Questions
To become a P.Eng. or P.Geo. you must either enroll as an intern with Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba or transfer in as a P.Eng. or P.Geo. under the inter-association mobility agreement with another provincial engineering or geoscience regulator. However, there is no transferring of status at the pre-registration level.
Everyone claims work experience using progress reports submitted through their online profile. In certain cases the paper progress report form can be used. Administrative fees will be levied on those reports that are submitted late, if the person did not go through the academic assessment process first. Former assessment applicants are exempt from late fees since they have already paid for their academic assessment. However, they should still try to submit as promptly as possible.
Acceptable work experience is defined as comprising the practice of professional Engineering or professional Geoscience, which must include the application of theory, as well as exposure to the areas of practical experience, management, communication skills development, professionalism, ethical responsibilities, and the social implications of Engineering or Geoscience.
See Work Experience for details, including downloadable PDFs outlining acceptable work experience for Engineers and Geoscientists.
As part of Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba's mandatory pre-registration program, you and your supervisor are required, for every 12 months of your experience (or more often, if you change jobs), to submit progress reports describing your work experience. Our Experience Review Committee will consider these reports, and will notify you of any concerns it may have regarding your work experience.
- Complete the M.Sc. including the thesis
- After becoming an Intern, submit the following documents to the pre-registration program coordinator:
- Copy of the M.Sc. diploma
- Copy of the official transcripts showing the completion of the M.Sc.
- The date on which you started the M.Sc. and the date on which you completed the M.Sc.
- Twelve months of credit towards your M.Sc. will be added to your profile. Please note, however, that if you are working full time while doing an M.Sc., you can get credit for only one of these. Also, if the M.Sc. is your only Canadian engineering/geoscience experience, you will still be required to get an additional 12 months of Canadian engineering/geoscience experience. Also note, that this credit is contingent on your having a Bachelor's degree as well as a Master's degree in engineering or geoscience. If you had an undergraduate degree other than engineering or geoscience, you will not be able to get credit for the M.Sc. because it would be considered part of your educational (rather than experience) requirements.
- Please note that while twelve months can be credited, it is still possible in certain cases for an Intern to require more than 48 months to complete the pre-registration program. Please review the Acceptable Engineering Work Experience (PDF) or Acceptable Geoscience Work Experience (PDF) documents.
Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba will allow up to 48 months of credit for a PhD, however, the reports should be detailed with plenty of examples and should clearly follow the Acceptable Engineering Experience document or the Acceptable Geoscience Experience document.
Submitting your thesis in its entirety, or simply submitting a list of published papers is not considered a progress report and you will be asked to resubmit a report that does not clearly demonstrate the criteria that we are requesting.
Your work should clearly demonstrate your own research/design experience and should focus on issues and challenges that you may have encountered while doing this work - e.g. tight timelines, working with challenging co-workers, budgetary constraints, etc. and how you have solved them.
Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba will consider these reports, and will notify you as to the acceptability of your previous work experience. You and your supervisor(s) will be required to submit additional progress reports, until you are eligible for registration as a Professional Member of Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba. All feedback from the Experience Review Committee goes back to your online profile, so you must log in to check.
At least twelve months of your work experience must be obtained in Canada, or in a Canadian environment such as a Canadian company abroad. In the latter case, these situations will be assessed on a case by case basis and the onus will be on the applicant to make the case for the similarity of their experience to an equivalent Canadian situation. In many instances, the work must have been performed in Canada - for example, where there are climate considerations or where the work experience is deemed significantly different from an equivalent Canadian experience. The Experience Review Committee will make the decision regarding the suitability.
If you were an Academic Assessment applicant, Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba will consider work experience that is gained only after the date of academic qualification normally. Check your letter of academic qualification which you would have obtained at the end of the assessment process for this date. Normally, the date of academic qualification is the date of your Bachelor's degree. In some instances, depending on the assessment, the date of academic qualification may be the date of a later degree such as the Master's or PhD. This may happen, for example, if your first Bachelor's degree was not in engineering (or geoscience).
Pre-graduation credit will be considered, if absolutely necessary, following the same set of rules set out for pre-graduation credit. For those applicants who have more experience, it is often unnecessary and inadvisable to apply for pre-graduation credit since more current experience is considered the most relevant and should be claimed first.
If there is no Professional Engineer or a Professional Geoscientist at your place of employment, and if your work involves the practice of Professional Engineering or Professional Geoscience, you must have regular contact with a Professional Engineer or Professional Geoscientist who assumes all responsibility for your Engineering or Geoscience work (a mentor). Ideally, your employer will engage the Professional Engineer or Professional Geoscientist to serve as a consulting supervisor to you while you obtain the necessary experience.
You must identify your supervisor(s) in your progress report forms, and you will be expected to advise immediately if your supervisor ceases to assume responsibility for your work and you are unable to find another Professional Member to supervise your work. Both the mentor Engineer or Geoscientist and your direct (non-member) supervisor should complete their portions of the progress forms for each reporting period submitted for review.
- Progress report
- Supervisor report
- Mentor report (if required)
Reasons for delays include:
- Unresponsive supervisors - As an Intern, you are responsible for encouraging supervisors to complete reports promptly. However, Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba will urge supervisors to act upon your request and if you have already tried to do so
- Discipline-specific reviewers are unavailable
- Too many reports to process at a given time
- Your file(s) requires more clarification or discussion
See Volunteer Service and Professional Development for details.
Contact the association in your new province as quickly as possible to establish its requirements.
Many prefer to complete the Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba program once it is started, even if you move to another province.
It is important when sending a longer report that your report shows PROGRESSION. For example, you may describe less detailed projects at the beginning and more detailed and complex projects later in the report.
Administrative late fees may be applicable and will be assessed after ERC approval.
There are many reasons a file may not make it on an ERC Agenda. Here are some of them:
- The reviewers are discipline-specific. If the right disciplines are not available that month, there is no choice but to delay.
- Some reports span multiple disciplines and we must make a best guess as to the correct reviewer. That reviewer may subsequently indicate that they are not able to review, and the file will have to be forwarded to another reviewer the following month.
- For some uncommon disciplines in Manitoba, such as petroleum engineering, or chemical engineering, we may need to find suitable reviewers, and finding these individuals can be difficult.
- At some times of the year, reviewers may take holidays and there will be fewer available than usual. Since reviewers are volunteers, we cannot compel those that remain to take up the slack (though many very graciously do).
- Near the end of the program, after 40 months confirmed experience, we will be requesting final references. The ERC prefers to review the final report along with the references in one sitting. We may therefore hold a file until this information is complete. (We understand that there may be a misconception that only the Registration Committee reviews the references. This is not true - both the Experience Review Committee and the Registration Committee review references).
20 days prior to the exam, the locations are finalized based on demand and availability, you will receive an email from Yardstick Testing Centre inviting you to book your desired location from the available test centres. Your confirmation email will include all details (test centre location, date, timeslot and additional instructions for exam day).
Please contact the Pre-Registration Coordinator for the session cancellation deadline.
- Are in good standing with the Association (provided notice of resignation)
- Have practised within the last two years
- Are currently registered with another Canadian association
- Have been participating in a continuing professional development program with another Canadian association
Watch your time limits! For example, if you retire, then later wish to return to become a practising Professional Member, this is most easily done within four years of going on retired status.
Once you have written and passed this exam and provided you meet the other criteria for U.S. Mobility (see below), you may apply for U.S. Mobility, usually at the time of your next renewal period. You may elect to apply earlier than the next renewal period, but an application fee will still be charged.
The NPPE is a two (or three) hour closed book exam written by all Canadian engineers and geoscientists in all provinces. It is NOT the same as the ABC test which is open book and unique to Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba.
In the very unusual case where you may have written the Professional Practice examination already, but for some reason are NOT registered in another Canadian province, please contact the Registration Coordinator or Director of Admissions for guidance.
- Graduation with a four year engineering degree equivalent to a Canadian (CEAB) accredited undergraduate degree in engineering.
- Passing of the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) and the Professional Engineering (PE) exam(s) through NCEES.
- Currently registered and in good standing in at least one U.S. State.
- Have completed a minimum of four years of approved engineering experience as indicated by you NCEES record.
- Passing of the National Professional Practice Examination (NPPE)
- Apply to write the online ABC test by sending an email to our Registration Coordinator with your first name, last name and email address. She will enter this information which will create a profile for you and allow you to log in and write the test. Instructions for logging in.
- Around the same time you should submit your application to the Registration Coordinator so that the rest of the information can be entered to your profile.
- Once your application has been received AND she has received online notification that you have passed the ABC test, your file will be eligible to be forwarded to the Registration Committee for review and approval.
The implementation of the specified scope of practice licence in Manitoba requires Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba to honour the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) and recognize individuals who've already been granted a limited licence in another Canadian province.
The specified scope of practice licence provides a pathway to limited licensure for individuals with a non-traditional academic background. This category of licence recognizes the combination of education with extensive experience as potential qualification to qualify for practice in a specific scope of engineering or geoscience.
Successful applicants will ascribe to, and be held to, the same standard of skills, professionalism, and ethics as professional members.
A specified scope of practice licence is a new category of licence which allows non-engineers and non-geoscientists to practice in a specific scope of engineering or geoscience discipline. Typically applicants will be diploma holders who have years of experience which falls within a specific scope of engineering or geoscience.
The practitioner will be granted the privilege of using the title Engineering or Geoscience Licensee (Eng.L or Geo.L) and they will be issued a seal that is distinct to their licence.
To be eligible for the Specified Scope of Practice Licence you must meet one of the following conditions:
- You currently hold a Specified Scope of Practice Licence (limited licence) with another Canadian provincial association, OR
- You have a degree or diploma in applied science and technology with a minimum of four years in-scope experience (8 years including schooling), OR
- You have a degree or diploma in science or equivalent in math, physics, and basic sciences, with a minimum of four years in-scope experience (8 years including schooling), OR
- You have a non-accredited degree with a minimum of 15 years experience in your proposed scope of practice. (please note that this option may take longer to process).
- Persons who believe that they have these qualifications apply to the Association and complete the Application for Admission which includes: Degree(s), detailed resume, and Discipline of Practice Form.
- Those who appear to meet the criteria will be given a login profile and will be asked to pay a non-refundable application fee ($500.00 as of January 9, 2017). Once paid, they will be able to write the Act, Bylaws and Code of Ethics (ABC) test and submit the rest of the required information online. Once submitted, your file will be forwarded to the Experience Review Committee (ERC) for a detailed review of your resume, education, references and proposed scope of practice.
- If accepted, the applicant will be eligible to write the National Professional Practice Exam (NPPE) at the earliest opportunity. Exam signup will be through your login profile.
- Once passed, the file will be forwarded to the Registration Committee for the next available meeting.
- The Registration Committee will review the work and approve the applicant as a licensee provided they are satisfied.
Progress reports are very detailed documents describing your work experience that you have accumulated over the years.
Each progress report should cover only one employment position. An employment position means employment which is supervised by one supervisor. For example, if you worked under three different supervisors/departments in one company, then three different reports must be submitted and three different supervisors would attest to that experience.
Reports MUST clearly detail your experience in the specified scope in which you wish to practice. The format and scope of the reports are described in the following:
These reports must cover all criteria outlined in these documents, and contain plenty of details and examples to reflect the attainment of this criteria. It is important that you provide detail on challenges faced as well as unusual or difficult aspects faced on each project. The sample reports we have on the website are for engineers and geoscientists but these can be used as a guide.
To illustrate, the following comment is not sufficient:
- Scheduling - I was the lead scheduler for a challenging renovation project.
The following comment is better and reflects what you actually did:
- Scheduling - I providing the scheduling for a multi-discipline renovation of a 5000 sq. ft. commercial property in downtown Winnipeg. This project was challenging because of the varied tenancy of the building and the numerous trades and vendors involved. Timelines were very tight as there was a fixed deadline for occupancy, and one piece of the equipment was highly specialized with a long lead in time for delivery. Due to the unique nature of this equipment (a specialized pasta maker), local contractors were unfamiliar with the installation requirements and specialists had to be hired to ensure proper functioning.
All progress reports are done online using our automated system and all must be approved by your engineering/geoscience supervisor for the time period during which you did the work. It is expected that these reports will take a certain amount of time and effort and the quality expected is high. Reports that are not adequate will be rejected (or time-reduced) by the Experience Review Committee (ERC) with a request for re-submittal.
No. The person must choose which path they are planning to follow. If they have an engineering or geoscience degree they should apply for the P.Eng. or P.Geo. to become a full member NOT a specified scope of practice licensee. If they are rejected, they could potentially pursue limited licence instead.
No. However, if a person later obtains an engineering or geoscience degree, an upgrade path may be considered.
Yes. We will process their application in the same way we process an engineering mobility application. The person will normally be allowed the same scope in Manitoba as in the other province.
Each applicant must submit a Discipline of Practice form with their application. The proposal will be reviewed and then approved by the Experience Review Committee. Sample scopes from other provinces may be helpful for applicants to consider in order to streamline the application process. Some samples are available here: https://apeg.bc.ca/Member-Directories/Limited-Licensees-and-Scopes-of-Practice
No. Not according to our legislation.
At the time of this writing, there will be an initial non-refundable admission fee of $500.00. Once fully approved, the dues will be the same as the dues for professional members.
Yes, if the experience has been gained within a Canadian environment.
While we will accept a certain amount of experience earned out of country, at least 12 months of experience must have been earned within a Canadian environment, supervised (or mentored) by a P.Eng. or P.Geo. registered in the Canadian province, where the work was done, who had detailed knowledge of your work within the specified scope, at that time.
Because of the likelihood that those claiming for foreign experience would NOT have been supervised or mentored by a Canadian P.Eng. or P.Geo. , applicants who are claiming for any experience gained outside of Canada will NOT require that it be supervised (or mentored) by a P.Eng. or P.Geo. registered in a Canadian province. They will, however, require the comments and feedback of a supervisor (or mentor) who is recognized as an Engineer or Geoscientist within that country, who had detailed knowledge of their work within the specified scope at the time.
See questions 21 and 22 for the definition and explanation of 'mentoring'.
No. All reporting must be done using the online system. If this is absolutely impossible, please contact the Pre-Registration Program Coordinator to discuss options.
Yes. Once you have attained your Eng.L or Geo.L you will be subject to the Continuing Competency Requirements in the exact same way as the P.Eng's and the P.Geo's.
This process is new to Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba, and the time to process will depend on the quality, content, completeness and volume of applications we receive.
One report per employment position. The total time period for the reports must equal the experience requirement for your application condition. For example, if you completed a two-year diploma program, the total applicable experience requirement toward that licence would be: six years (of which two years are direct on-the-job experience and at least four years are directly in the specified scope). There must therefore be progress reports covering a total time frame of AT LEAST six years before the application is reviewed. The experience must be current.
Yes, as long as it is corroborated by an engineering (or geoscience) supervisor who is recognized as such in that country AND there is at least one year of experience shown that is directly supervised by a P.Eng. (or P.Geo) [within Canada]. Out-of-country experience is claimed by using progress reports in the same way as in-country experience is and is subject to the same criteria as per the Acceptable Engineering Experience Guideline and the Acceptable Geoscience guideline. Experience documented MUST be within the scope in which you wish to practice.
We will use the same list used by the Certified Technicians and Technologists of Manitoba (CTTAM) http://www.cctt.ca/accreditation/accredited-programs Degrees/diplomas accredited by the Sydney Accord are normally considered accredited. Other degrees and diplomas will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The purpose of the work experience requirement is to demonstrate that you are able to put your education into practice. If you are working in an area that differs from your discipline of graduation, you may well require additional training or education, which will mean that you will likely require more than the minimum to obtain sufficient qualifying work experience. Every case is different however, so please contact the Pre-Registration Program Coordinator if you are uncertain.
In this case, you will require TWO people to sign off on your progress reports - your direct supervisor AND an additional mentor engineer (or geoscientist) who was aware of and able to comment on your work at that time. It will be up to you to contact that person and have them agree to act as your mentor.
In this case, you will require TWO people to sign off on your progress reports - your direct supervisor AND an additional person recognized as an engineer or geoscientist within that country, who was aware of and able to comment on your work at that time. It will be up to you to contact that person and have them agree to act as your mentor.
You are eligible to write the NPPE at any time while you are an SSPL applicant. You register for this exam at your own profile.
Usually, it's best to stick to the province in which you have started the process, complete the process in that province, and then go through via the mobility agreement. This may vary depending on your case, so please contact the Pre-Registration Program Coordinator if you are considering moving before completion.
Please contact Chantelle Cabral, Pre-Registration Program Coordinator, Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba if you have any additional questions. If necessary, you may contact by telephone, but e-mail is preferred.
Requests for an expanded scope must be accompanied by evidence of sufficient competency and skill in the application of engineering principles for the expanded scope. Obtaining this additional expertise and education takes time and effort and the applicant must submit evidence of new work rather than work already reviewed. Once an applicant has accepted a scope, requests for expansion will not be reviewed prior to the twelve month anniversary of the most recent scope approved.