Registrar’s Report 2013 09 26 Page 1

REGISTRAR’S REPORT TO COUNCIL

For September 2013 ASTTBC Council Meeting

(Covering the Period June 1, 2013 to September 16, 2013)

The summary of activities presented in this report describe efforts to improve quality and consistency that

is essential for ASTTBC to carry out its obligations as specified in ASTTBC Act, Section 3, Objects of the

Association.

1. Risk Management

The complexity of several complaints received by ASTTBC in April and May 2013 prompted a meeting

on June 10, 2013 of all Managers / Investigators of Technical Specialist programs with ASTTBC’s Legal

Counsel Gregory Miller, LLB, PEng. Mr. Miller provided clarification and examples of actions both

within and beyond ASTTBC’s mandate. The recommendations from the meeting include a review of all

Certification Board policies, the insertion of disclaimers in ASTTBC documents, and the preparation of

guidelines and contract templates for ASTTBC members when providing mentor or advisory services.

2. Disclaimer Statements

The policy documents for the Board of Examiners (BoE), the Practice Review Board (PRB), the

Accreditation Board and 8 Technical Specialist Certification Boards revealed that existing disclaimers

make little or no reference to limiting liability claims against the Association. Three disclaimer statements

were prepared and submitted to Legal Counsel for review. The disclaimer statements that have been

summited to ASTTBC Council for approval clarify the limits of ASTTBC liability.

3. Guidelines for Board Member Term of Office

ASTTBC Regulations Chapter 10.0 describing Boards and Committees specifies that Council appoint

members annually. The Regulations and the policies of various Boards do not specify the number of

consecutive years a volunteer member should serve. At the November 2, 2007 Council meeting Terms of

Office and Guidelines for ASTTBC Boards were approved. Implementation of the Council-approved

guidelines has not been consistent with all Boards. The Revised Guidelines define the term start date, and

end date for all Board appointments thus clarifying time expectations of volunteers to serve on a Board.

Implementing the Revised Guidelines will provide opportunity for more members to voluntarily

participate on an ASTTBC Board. The key features in the revised guidelines include:

The duration of one Term of Office for a Board member is three consecutive calendar years.

Volunteers will be recruited and invited to participate on a Board for one term.

A second consecutive term of three years on the same Board may be possible upon the

recommendation of the relevant Board and approval of the Council.

Succession planning to ensure consistency in Board functions is included in the revised policy.

The proposed revision to the Term of Office Guidelines for Board Members including the schedule of

Board appointments over the next 3 years was presented to Council for approval.

Registrar’s Report 2013 09 26 Page 2

4. Mandatory Continuing Professional Development

In 2007, a voluntary, self-managed system of identifying and recording CPD activities was developed and

implemented. The self-managed program enabled members who regularly participated in CPD events to

enter the information in their secure account on the ASTTBC website. ASTTBC did not monitor entries

made by members nor was it mandatory for members to comply with the CPD guidelines.

Many professional regulatory authorities1 now require a pre-determined amount of CPD annually as a

condition of membership renewal. Furthermore, ASTTBC Code of Ethics Principle 6 states “Members of

ASTTBC shall keep informed to maintain proficiency and competency, to advance the body of

knowledge within their discipline and further opportunities for the professional development of their

associates.”

The mandatory CPD requirement will ensure that all ASTTBC members remain current in their

discipline. By entering the CPD information in the website the member creates a permanent record of

professional development. Accumulating a minimum of 20 CPD points annually for membership renewal

provides assurances that ASTTBC members are current in their discipline and that they are complying

with the ASTTBC Code of Ethics and Practice Guidelines. The proposed policy on Mandatory Reporting

of CPD was presented to ASTTBC Council.

5. Ontario Human Rights Commission Decision on Required Canadian Work Experience

In July 2013, the Ontario Human Rights Commissioner (OHRC) announced that employers and

regulatory authorities demanding Canadian work experience, as a requirement of employment or

registration is discriminatory. The OHRC indicated best practices to avoid challenges of being

discriminatory included among others: 1) Listing essential competencies in a job description so that

candidates can show how their skills match the requirements, and 2) Give candidates opportunity to show

their competencies through an interview, practical test, simulated job setting or employment on contract

or probationary basis. A summary of the presentation given by the OHRC is provided in Annex 1.

6. Construction Safety Certification Board Policy Revision

There has not been a major revision to the Construction Safety Certification (CSC) Policy since the

technical specialist program was approved in 1997. Fifteen years of changes in the construction industry

combined with recent developments in the creation of the BC Construction Safety Alliance have resulted

in the CSO Panel preparing a substantial revision to the CSC policy and the construction safety program.

The major changes in the revised policy include:

1. Creation of a laddered, three-tiered certification starting with:

Provisional Construction Safety Officer (CSO(P)),

Construction Safety Officer (CSO) and

Registered Construction Safety Officer (RCSO).

2. Competency-based standards have been developed for purposes of assessing applications and for

accrediting training programs.

3. The designation of Trades Safety Coordinator (TSC) has been discontinued.

4. The name Construction Safety Certification Panel has been changed to Construction Safety

Certification Board (CSCB).

The CSCB policy was presented to the Council for approval.

1 Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC (APEG BC), Architects Institute of BC (AIBC),

Association of Professional Foresters of BC (APFBC)

Registrar’s Report 2013 09 26 Page 3

7. Registered Technology Manager (RTMgr) Policy Revision

A review of the RTMgr Certification Policy identified several areas that need revision to improve clarity

and consistency of interpretation. The revised policy includes improved criteria and competency-based

standards for certification as an RTMgr or as a Provisional RTMgr. The revision provides greater clarity

for applicants and increases consistency in the assessment of applications. The Draft revised policy was

presented to the Council for approval.

8. Board of Examiners (BoE) Policy Revision

The Board of Examiners Policy was last revised in 2011. Significant changes have occurred since the last

revision including introduction of the Technology Registrations Canada online application process that

uses the National Technology Benchmarks for competency-based assessment of applications. The

revised Policy will improve clarity to the applicant, the File Reviewers and the Board of Examiners when

assessing the qualification, competencies and work experience The revised BoE policy includes the

following changes:

1. Removal of redundant text and reorganization of the document for more logical flow of

information presented for easier understanding.

2. The disclaimer statement has been substantially changed.

3. Graduate Technologist, Graduate Technician and Provisional designations are valid for 5 years.

In the sixth year, members in these categories will be reclassified as Associates.

4. An Associate may continue in this classification for as long as they wish.

5. Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) will be more formally implemented to

determine the education qualifications and competencies of applicants from non-accredited

programs or for applicants claiming non-formal or experiential learning.

6. Revised guidelines will be developed and trial tested by File Reviewers and the BoE to evaluate

the applicant’s education qualifications, competencies and work experience compared to the

National Technology Benchmarks, Workplace and Community Integration Competencies and the

ASTTBC Hierarchy of Work Experience Levels.

7. The revised policy accepts documented evidence of relevant work experience achieved anywhere

in the world. The requirement for Canadian experience is replaced by a requirement of

providing evidence of Workplace and Community Integration Competencies and ASTTBC levels

of work experience.

8. Special considerations category has been discontinued because under the revised BoE policy such

applications will be assessed using competency-based standards and increased application of

PLAR.

9. Guidelines on the Terms of Office for ASTTBC Board Members have been included.

10. The word “academic” is replaced by education or education qualifications.

11. Appendixes have been added to the BoE policy to provide supporting documentation on

standards or reference to other pertinent ASTTBC policies.

12. A training program on the new policy has been developed and scheduled for File Reviewers to

attend either at ASTTBC or by webinar on October 24, 2013.

9. Recruitment of Volunteer File Reviewers

Registrar’s Report 2013 09 26 Page 4

In July 2013, a broadcast message was sent to AScT members with 5 or more years membership

requesting volunteers to serve as Board of Examiners File Reviewers. The message highlighted several

features of being a file reviewer including: 1) Good for Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

points. 2) Files may be reviewed online 24 / 7; and 3) Files may be reviewed regardless of where you live

or work. Within 72 hours of the broadcast we received positive replies from 43 members from all over

BC, in Alberta and one from Oman. The 24 / 7 borderless and paperless access feature of our new online

application process at www.technologyregistrationscanada.ca is likely a contributing factor in the

excellent response rate. Over 50 volunteers have been invited to join a training session in October on

using the Technology Registrations Canada (TRC) online process to review and evaluate application files.

Volunteers have the option of attending in person or by webinar.

10. BC Funded “One-year Canadian Work Experience Project”

In July 2013, the final report of Canadian Work Experience project was submitted to the BC Ministry of

Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training (JTST). The Project had 3 objectives: i) Define the performance

indicators typically expected of employees that have a minimum of one-year Canadian work experience;

ii) Develop alternate methods to achieve the intended outcome of having the equivalent of one-year

Canadian work experience; and iii) Design and develop a work experience log book or equivalent

instrument to describe and document the knowledge, skills, attitudes and performance expected of

employees that have one or more years of on-the-job experience in Canada.

Consultations in 8 locations throughout BC exceeded expectations with 94 participants representing 83

employers providing valuable information identifying competencies and traits of experienced workers

compared to those with no previous work experience in BC. The performance indicators that employees

with one or two years experience demonstrated were clustered into 5 competency areas. Each competency

cluster had from 8 to 12 observable and measurable indicators. This information formed the basis of a

method to document achievement of the essential workplace and community integration competencies in

a work experience log book.

11. Practice Review Board (PRB) Activity

In June and September 2013, the PRB dealt with 28 complaints of which 17 involved Registered Onsite

Wastewater Practitioners (ROWP) 3 Property Inspectors, 7 Registered Fire Protection Technicians and 1

against other members. A total of 48 complaints have been received since January 1, 2013 compared to

35 for the same period in 2012.

12. Property Inspections

Mr. Peter Link, CTech, CPI, RRFA submitted notice of his intention to retire as Manger, Property

Inspections effective January 2014. Peter has been instrumental in the development and promotion of the

Property inspection certification and registration program since 1996 when the program started.

13. ASTTBC Staff Changes

Kathy Rozek, Senior Coordinator, Technical Specialists Registrations confirmed her intention of retiring

effective January 2014. A staffing strategy was developed to distribute registrations workload to existing

staff.

Registrar’s Report 2013 09 26 Page 5

In July 2013, Danielle Mac Gregor, Coordinator of AScT and CTech Registrations submitted her

resignation in order to pursue a career in teaching. Danielle’s resignation effective September 13, 2013

necessitated a revision to the succession plan we had in place leading up to Kathy’s retirement. Frauke

Bracht, Registrations Assistant who joined ASTTBC in February 2013, will become Registrations

Coordinator taking over from Danielle.

Recruitment and selection of a Coordinator, Technical Specialists was initiated in July 2013. On

September 3, 2013, Erin Macedo joined the ASTTBC staff as Coordinator of six technical specialist

programs2. Julie Li, Coordinator, Technical Specialists, will be looking after 4 technical specialist

programs3. The scheduled transition for these changes has been advanced from December 2013 to

September 16, 2013 thus allowing time for training and adjustment to the new assignments prior to

Kathy’s retirement.

14. Registration Statistics

There has been a 3.0% increase in the number of members registered as Technologists or Technicians

compared to September 2012. For the same period, there was a 5.3% increase in technical specialist

registrations. As of September 16, 2013, ASTTBC membership is 8,050 technologists and technicians

plus 2,019 technical specialists of whom 308 have dual designation resulting in a total of 9,761 registered

members. Annex 1 provides membership registration status by discipline.

2 Registered Fire Protection Technicians, Property Inspectors, Structural Steel Detailers, Registered Site

Improvement Surveyors, Public Works Inspectors, and Building Designers.

3 Registered Onsite Wastewater Practitioners, Construction Safety Officers, Electrical Work Practitioners, and

Registered Technology Managers.

ANNEX 1

ASTTBC MEMBERSHIP BY DISCIPLINE As of September 16, 2013

Registrar’s Report 2013 09 26 Page 6

2011 Retention Retention

Summary totals as of: Dec Apr Sep Dec 2011/2012 Apr Sep Dec 2012 / 2013

31 1 16 31 Dec to Dec 1 16 31 Sep to Sep

1 Biological Sciences 216 215 210 241 111.6% 230 237 112.9%

2 Biomedical Engineering 95 93 84 85 89.5% 84 79 94.0%

3 Building 895 921 877 885 98.9% 912 875 99.8%

4 Chemical 204 201 173 172 84.3% 166 162 93.6%

5 Civil 2,393 2,423 2,281 2,307 96.4% 2,468 2,383 104.5%

6 Electrical 584 582 568 574 98.3% 610 597 105.1%

7 Electronics 1,374 1,383 1,269 1,305 95.0% 1,303 1,220 96.1%

8 Environmental 191 201 199 200 104.7% 209 208 104.5%

9 Forest Engineering 15 15 19 19 126.7% 16 18 94.7%

10 Gas & Petroleum 106 108 108 109 102.8% 112 111 102.8%

11 Geomatics 397 387 338 345 86.9% 366 333 98.5%

12 Industrial Technology 79 81 80 80 101.3% 80 81 101.3%

13 Informaiton Technology 125 136 74 87 69.6% 109 97 131.1%

14 Instrumentation 3 4 7 7 233.3% 12 15 214.3%

15 Mechanical 1,447 1,451 1,319 1,343 92.8% 1,350 1,404 106.4%

16 Metallurgical 47 67 66 66 140.4% 66 64 97.0%

17 Mining 85 81 72 73 85.9% 96 91 126.4%

Honorary members 72 72 71 73 101.4% 73 75 105.6%

Total AScT + CTech 8,328 8,421 7,815 7,971 95.7% 8,262 8,050 0 103.0%

1 Construction Safety 187 187 208 236 126.2% 255 247 118.8%

2 Fire Protection 753 753 749 790 104.9% 806 797 106.4%

3 House & Property Insp. 190 199 178 179 94.2% 181 170 95.5%

4 Onsite Wastewater 563 563 547 571 101.4% 593 566 103.5%

5 Public Works Inspector 79 79 85 86 108.9% 89 86 101.2%

6 Steel Detailing 26 29 26 29 111.5% 26 25 96.2%

7 Building Design 66 68 73 74 112.1% 75 73 100.0%

8 Site Improvement Survey 22 23 22 22 100.0% 21 22 100.0%

9 Reg. Technology Manager 21 25 29 29 138.1% 30 33 113.8%

Total Tech . Specs. 1,907 1,926 1,917 2,016 105.7% 2,076 2,019 0 105.3%

1 Construction Safety 7 7 7 7 100.0% 9 9 128.6%

2 Fire Protection 20 20 20 24 120.0% 24 21 105.0%

3 House & Property Insp. 70 70 70 72 102.9% 70 63 90.0%

4 Onsite Wastewater 18 18 18 24 133.3% 23 21 116.7%

5 Public Works Inspector 54 54 54 58 107.4% 60 59 109.3%

6 Steel Detailing 6 6 6 7 116.7% 7 7 116.7%

7 Building Design 66 68 73 74 112.1% 75 73 100.0%

8 Site Improvement Survey 22 23 22 22 100.0% 21 22 100.0%

9 Reg. Technology Manager 21 25 29 29 138.1% 30 33 113.8%

Sub-total 284 291 299 317 111.6% 319 308 0 103.0%

9,951 10,056 9,433 9,670 97.2% 10,019 9,761 0 103.5%

Notes:1) Includes AScT, CTech, Provisionals, Associates, GradTechs, and Students.

2) Cancellation of membership for non-payment of dues occurs in August.

3) Students in accredited technology programs are added to ASTTBC register in October.

2012

AScT and CTech Disciplines

TechnicalSpecialists

Grand Total Individual Members

2013

AScT or CTech Plus Technical Specialization (Dual Designation)

Registrar’s Report 2013 09 26 Page 7

ANNEX 2

Summary Presentation by the Ontario Human Rights Commissioner

Registrar’s Report 2013 09 26 Page 8