1. Strengthening Mobility and Promoting Regional Integration of Professional Engineers in APEC Economies – An Overview Basil Wakelin

2. Types of mobility Mobility of people Mobility of work

3. Parties to Mobility of Engineers The engineer The exporting country The importing country and its government and private sectors The professional institutions of both exporting and importing countries The organisations employing engineers. 2

4. Current situation -1 [ Jurisdiction No of APEC Engineers Country populations Millions Eng Canada 1934 Eng Australia 45024 IPENZ 18715 HKIE 307 IESingapore 375 IPEJapan 1812128 KPEA 83748 NCEES 627320 IEMalaysia 48228 PII – Indonesia 15238 COE Thailand 33070 Philippines 5994 Chinese Institute of Engineers. 5723 Russia - AEER80143 3

5. Current situation -2 Countries which have a strong inward and/or outward mobility of engineers are more likely to have substantial numbers of individuals on their registers whereas others may have practically none. This is reflected in the current numbers of IntPE which ranges from over 50% of nationally registered engineers in some countries to almost nil in others. 4

6. Issues for individuals Most engineers practice in their own countries and external recognition has little value Currently the requirements for the international register can mean another assessment process on top of existing national competence assessment or registration processes. The added register means additional work and additional cost which may not be seen as adding value. Bilateral recognition arrangements between adjacent countries or significant trading partners may have reduced the need for individuals in those countries to be more widely internationally recognised. 5

7. Other Issues Experience of desk top reviews for initial evaluation and periodic review under the current rules, shows that the process is challenging and is relatively expensive when considering the relatively small numbers on some registers. Many modern evaluation systems are based on outcome assessment i.e. what are the results, rather than determined by inputs i.e. years of experience etc as is still required by Agreements Partly because of the large number of engineers who study outside their own countries the recognition drivers for the WA are international whereas the drivers for competence recognition are much more local. Many countries have a variety of agencies certifying professional competence including national governments, or state governments, or professional bodies. The member of the Competence Agreement may not be the body responsible for licensing. 6

8. Drivers of Mobility -1 Outward prospect of better jobs, greater earning capacity, wider experience, better climate including physical, environmental and intellectual aspects, more compatible moral or legal framework, family reasons, overcrowding, lack of jobs in the home jurisdiction etc. 7

9. Drivers of Mobility 2 Inward General shortage of engineers Need for specialist engineers both nationally and by individual companies Improvement of local skills and capacity 8

10. Basic components of mobility A need for engineers in the destination country. A desire to work outside home jurisdiction Proof of competence measured against an internationally recognised standard such as APECEA or IPEA Recognition of this competence. The extent to which countries recognise qualifications from other jurisdictions varies and many have specific local requirements. Good health and personal stability. Competence in local regulations and issues in areas of importance or the ability to acquire it quickly e.g. seismic engineering in some countries Competence in local languages 9

11. Obligations and Constraints Everyone: telling the complete truth. The new host government: clarity about the immigration requirements for engineers, Professional and other institutions: the practical extent of cross recognition Employers: good definitions of the type of engineers required in terms of qualifications and experience, and non- discrimination in the hiring of engineers The incoming engineer: truthfulness and completeness of disclosure about qualifications and experience The professional institutions in the home country of origin: complete and up to date records concerning the outgoing/emigrating engineer. 10

12. Conditions for Regional Integration Substantially common standards of education and measurement of competence. Legal standards must be similar or at least well known. There must be compatible ethical standards both in theory and in practice. There is a wide variation in practice even in the APEC region. The above conditions for each country must be all commonly recognised and understood and perhaps formally accepted. 11

13. Data Base Management What is the purpose of the data base? Content – what is to be included? System design- is this to be a standalone data base or to be method of connecting to existing data bases? Authorisation - who is allowed to populate the data base and make changes? Accessibility - who has access to the information? Location – is the data base stored on the cloud, if not, where? Hosting and management – who hosts and manages the data base? Is it managed centrally or by distributed management? Security- what level of security is possible and affordable? This may affect the detail of the information to be stored etc. 12

14. Issue and Opportunities System design and management will affect the costs of establishing and maintaining the data bases. Historical experience has shown that members do not update them. The content of the data base must be appropriate to achieve the purpose of the data base. Legal requirements, security and privacy. Protectionism could be an issue. What is the language of the data base? Levels of cross recognition 13

15. Conclusion The improvement of mobility and promoting regional integration of professional engineers in APEC economies is not a simple issue but the provision of a data base of useful information for use by all APEC members could be useful step forward provided it has a focussed, understandable objective and is kept simple and cost effective. 14

16. Thank you 15