Frequently Asked Questions

The following frequently asked questions apply to the current Continuing Professional Development Guideline.

In 2021, the new mandatory Continuing Education Program will come into force under the Professional Governance Act. To learn more, visit the Continuing Education Program Overview page.

• 1. Is compliance with the Continuing Professional Development Guideline mandatory?

  Compliance with the Continuing Professional Development Guideline is recommended but not mandatory. Under the current Code of Ethics, registrants are responsible for undertaking professional development that is relevant to their practice. The guideline outlines expectations with respect to the types of activities and amount of professional development that professional registrants should be undertaking.

  Beginning in 2021, continuing education will become mandatory under the Professional Governance Act and registrants will be required to report under the new Continuing Education Program.

• 2. How do I declare compliance with the Continuing Professional Development Guideline?

  Registrants declare their compliance with the guideline by indicating the total number of hours completed on their annual renewal form or online by signing in to your online account.

• 3. What will happen if I do not comply with the Continuing Professional Development Guideline?

  Registrants who comply with the Continuing Professional Development Guideline will have this noted in their record and it will be published in the public Register. Registrants who choose not to report compliance will not be declared compliant in their public registrant record.

• 4. Who is expected to participate in professional development activities?

  Professional registrants, including those who are unemployed but intend to practise, life members with practice rights, and professional licensees are expected to maintain competency under the current Code of Ethics. Trainees are encouraged to participate in professional development during their training years.

• 5. How much professional development am I expected to undertake?

  To be in compliance with the guideline, registrants are required to complete an average of 80 hours per year (240 hours on a 3-year rolling total). Hours are accrued as professional development hours where 1 professional development hour equals 1 hour of relevant professional development activity.

• 6. What types of activities qualify as professional development under the Continuing Professional Development Guideline?

  Category	Examples	Actual Hours/Items Claimed	Professional Development Hours Earned	Maximum Professional Development Hours per Year
  Professional Practice	Active professional practice as engineer or geoscientist	15 hours	1	50
  Formal	Courses from universities, industry, employer, technical societies at least 4 hours in length	1 hour	1	30
  Informal	Self-directed study, conferences, seminars	1 hour	1	30
  Participation	Mentor/tutor, service on public bodies, technical committees	1 hour	1	20
  Presentations	Technical or professional presentations outside your normal job functions	1 hour	1	20
  Contributions to Knowledge	Development of published codes and standards	1 hour	1	30
  	Patents	1 patent	15	No limit
  	Publication of papers in a peer-reviewed technical journal	1 paper	15	No limit
  	Thesis at master's or PhD level (successfully defended and approved)	1 thesis	30	No limit
  	Publication of a book (professional development hours claimable over 2 years)	1 book	60	No limit
  	Publication of articles in non-reviewed journals or internal company report	1 article	10	10
  	Reviewing articles for publication	1 hour	1	10
  	Editing papers for publication	1 hour	1	No limit

  Registrants are required to complete activities from at least three of the six categories. More information on these categories can be found on pages 7 and 8 of the Continuing Professional Development Guideline.

• 7. Are only seminars and workshops organized by Engineers and Geoscientists BC recognized for credit?

  No. Council and the Continuing Professional Development Committee recognize that there are many ways to participate in professional development. As such, any activity that is recognized as professional development is accepted, regardless of who provides it. We do not intend to accredit specific providers or programs.

• 8. Do I need to submit documentation (e.g., receipts, certificates of completion) or detailed activity reports in order to declare compliance?

  You do not need to submit supporting documentation (e.g., receipts, certificates) and detailed activity reports in order to declare compliance, but you must kept them on file for audit purposes for 4 years after the date the activity occurred. Registrants who are selected for Practice Review through the current selection process will be asked to provide supporting information with respect to their professional development activities. Some activities will not be verifiable (e.g., journal reading) and therefore will not be subject to auditing.

• 9. I work in a specialized field where professional development opportunities are limited. How can I meet the criteria?

  Professional development takes many forms and does not consist solely of formal courses taken at post secondary institutions. Technical journals, online courses, and networking meetings exist for most specialized fields.

• 10. How can registrants who reside outside the Lower Mainland meet the guideline requirements?

  Technical journals and standards can be accessed regardless of location as can online or distance courses. Registrants in regions throughout the province are encouraged to create networking meetings with their colleagues and work with their local branch of Engineers and Geoscientists BC to increase access to professional development in regions throughout the province.

• 11. The cost and time required to comply with the Continuing Professional Development Guideline is too onerous.

  Under the Code of Ethics, professional engineers and professional geoscientists are expected to follow a professional development program. As the program is very flexible with regards to the ways in which a registrant achieves their professional development, the cost is controllable by the registrant. There are numerous professional development opportunities that are offered at little or no cost. Some examples of these are in-house seminars, employer-sponsored sessions, brown bag lunch sessions that various technical groups hold, the reading of technical journals and standards, and attendance of branch meetings.

• 12. Do registrants who hold dual registration (P.Eng.,P.Geo.) need to accumulate more hours than those who hold a P.Eng. or P.Geo.?

  No. Under the Continuing Professional Development Guideline all professional registrants are expected to accumulate the same minimum number of hours. The exception to this is registrants who hold the Struct.Eng. designation. These registrants must follow the more stringent requirements of the Struct.Eng. Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Program.

• 13. What if I work part-time or am retired? Are there exemptions from the program?

  As compliance with the Continuing Professional Development Guideline is voluntary, there is no exemption process in place. Should the program become mandatory, registrants who are unemployed, not working due to health or disability reasons, on parental leave, or enrolled in certain full-time education programs would likely submit a written request for special consideration to have the annual number of professional development hours reduced.

• 14. Can I carry-over hours to future reporting years?

  If you accrue more hours than the maximum allowable in a particular category, you may carry forward those professional development hours to future reporting years. Professional development hours are to be used within 3 years of the activity.

• 15. Why should I voluntarily declare compliance?

  Declaration provides Engineers and Geoscientists BC with a way to demonstrate to the public that its registrants are keeping up to date in their area of practice. As well, registrants who choose to declare compliance are recognized with a "Declared Continuing Professional Development Compliant" note in the online Register.

• 16. I would like to enter or update my professional development hours online for previous years.

  Please contact the Professional Practice, Standards and Development Department at [email protected] or 604.430.8035.

• 17. I have just registered as a new professional member registrant (P.Eng./P.Geo.). Can I count professional development activities completed before my registration was active toward my yearly professional development total?

  Yes, professional development reporting is based on the calendar year in which is was earned, regardless of what your registration status was at the time it was earned. The main consideration to meet the Guideline is whether the professional development activity is relevant to your practice, not your registration status.