For engineering work experience gained in Canada, the validator must be a professional engineer (P.Eng.) who was registered during the work period they are validating. For experience gained outside of Canada, it is expected that they will be a senior engineering practitioner.
It is preferred that any validator who is not a P.Eng. and is validating international experience, be a senior engineering practitioner and licensed as an engineer in their jurisdiction. PEO may request information to support their engineering qualifications, which may include proof of academic and engineering credentials, and professional designation during the assessment process.
Yes. Under the new licence process that came into effect on May 15, 2023, all applicants must demonstrate both the academic and experience requirements before applying. All applicants must have a minimum of 48 months of acceptable engineering work experience, which must be demonstrated at the time of application through PEO’s competency-based assessment (CBA).
There is no maximum number of validators. The minimum required is one.
A validator assesses and rates the applicant’s work experience. A validator must have direct, first-hand knowledge of the applicant’s work and must have provided suitable professional supervision of the applicant throughout the work period being validated and have taken technical responsibility for the applicant’s work. The validator may have a title other than supervisor and may be a manager, mentor, client or colleague.
Validation assists in assuring to PEO that the licensing requirements set out in the Act and the regulations have been satisfied. Validation does not constitute a review of the applicant’s work experience, in Canada or internationally—it simply confirms that it was acquired.
Yes, as long as validators are sufficiently familiar with the candidate’s work and can confidently rate the competencies.
Although this is ideal, the validators do not necessarily need to be from the same place of employment. As long as the validators are sufficiently familiar with the candidate’s engineering work experience and can confidently rate the assigned competencies, that should suffice.
No, PEO is no longer evaluating for Canadian experience.
Candidates are required to assign a new validator for the competencies that were originally assigned to the validator who declined.
The competency-based assessment (CBA) framework does not allow for post-graduate studies’ academic credits to be applied towards the experience requirement. However, a candidate or applicant can include post-graduate research or work experience in their CBA as long as they have a qualified validator.
Applicants may use up to 12 months of experience acquired prior to the completion of their undergraduate degree towards the minimum 48-month requirement. Applicants can include this pre-graduation experience in the experience summary, being careful to select the pre-graduation option. The start date of this pre-graduation experience must not exceed two years prior to the degree conferral date.
Please note that we only consider requests to expedite when applicants provided us with a letter signed by the employer, or potential employer, indicating that:
1. The P.Eng designation is needed for the applicant to perform certain duties in their current work; or
2. The P.Eng designation is a condition of a job offer and is a limiting factor for the applicant to be hired.
Visit https://peo.on.ca/apply/become-professional-engineer to see the new CBA application process steps and to get started.
A candidate can submit industry sponsored research under the CBA.
Canadian Environment competencies may be obtained abroad. For example, a candidate working for Shell Oil in Nigeria may be using the same American Petroleum Institute (API) engineering standards used in Norway, United States or Windsor, Ontario.
Technically, yes. However, you won’t be able to submit an application until you have completed a CBA with at least 48 months of engineering experience.
Validators should rate competencies in confidence to PEO. Candidate self-assessments and validator ratings are to be submitted to PEO independently.
We are updating the CBA for clarity on this particular point to note that a family member working with a candidate can be a validator.
Ideally yes, but not necessarily. If the validator(s) can attest to your competencies and is familiar with your work, they may be an eligible validator. PEO reserves the right to determine the acceptability of validators.