- Life at Mipac
- Professional Engineer
- Canada
Lead Control Systems Engineer Yasser Elshohna recently completed his P.Eng (Professional engineer) qualification in Brisbane. This Canadian license is essential for engineers to practice their profession in Canada. Yasser’s proven dedication has further strengthened Mipac’s capabilities in Canada with the hope to expand opportunities within this region.
We sat down with Yasser to discover the process involved in achieveing a P.Eng qualification and how it has impacted his career so far.
Mipac: So, what does P.Eng stand for and what is it?
Yasser: Professional engineer. It’s a license specifically for Canada.
So, for any engineer to work in Canada, you need to have a licence. So you’re not even allowed to get the name as an engineer unless you have the licence which is Professional Engineer.
Mipac: What motivated you to pursue the P.Eng?
Yasser: Over the last few years, Mipac has been engaged to solve complex automation challenges in Canadian processing plants. To continue delivering these services, it became clear that we needed someone registered as a Professional Engineer (P.Eng) in Canada. This qualification benefits everyone involved.
For me, as an engineer, obtaining the P.Eng allows me to directly contribute to projects in Canada without legal barriers, expanding my professional capabilities on an international scale. Mipac benefits by having a team member fully accredited to lead Canadian projects, ensuring compliance and continuity in our service offerings. For our Canadian clients, this qualification guarantees that they are working with an engineer who meets the highest professional standards, providing them with confidence in our solutions and fostering stronger, more efficient partnerships. This process was streamlined thanks to the mutual recognition agreement between Australia and Canada, which helped me fast-track my certification through my Chartered Engineer (CP.Eng) status in Australia.
Mipac: What were some of the key challenges and milestones along the journey?
Yasser: The most challenging part, to be honest, was the technical exam. It wasn’t really focused on technical engineering knowledge; instead, it covered topics like regulations, ethics, contracts, and how to ethically manage interactions with contractors and other stakeholders.
Because usually in these kind of questions, there’s not a true or false, they are very vague. You leave, not knowing if it should have been another answer. Fortunately, I passed on my first attempt.
Apart from that, you have to go through an assessment of qualifications and assessment of your experience and there were several rounds to go through before my knowledge and experience could be accepted.
Mipac: Sounds difficult!
Yasser: No, it’s not difficult. It’s just the process you have to go through, and they are very specific about the answers you provide. Within the company we are qualified to do engineering work but it’s more about how you express yourself to show your expertise in certain areas of practice. Many people can do the work but they may not have the ability to show it in writing.
Mipac: You said it differs from other countries. Can you explain a little bit about how the process is different?
Yasser: In Australia, you don’t have as many exams. It’s a similar process of qualification that assessment of your qualification and your experience but you don’t go through a technical exam. It’s different in that part particularly.
Mipac: How do you feel this qualification will impact you career and role at Mipac?
Yasser: As a Lead Engineer, I’m leading my team that works with insights specifically therefore I feel like it’s a very big milestone for myself and Mipac as well as it puts us in a strong position for our business in Canada and we will be able to expand our outreach of projects in Canada, specifically for the clients we work with as a Canadian client of ours is one of our biggest clients. It opens our chances to more opportunities within the country itself, which is in line with the strategic direction of the company.
Mipac: Are there any skills or knowledge that you’ve learnt through this process.
Yasser: Yes, for sure, for me it’s all about the regulations and how things are done in different countries, especially Canada. There’s one thing that sticks in the front of my mind which is as a professional engineer based on the regulations in Canada or EGBC that British Columbia specifically covers in Canada – As a professional engineer, you sign a document certifying that the drawing or design has been done properly, but it doesn’t have to be 100% flawless. Essentially, you’re affirming that best practices were followed and that everything was completed to the best of your knowledge. There’s always room for error since everyone makes mistakes, no matter how experienced they are. I found that aspect particularly interesting.
It has been very useful to learn the regulations, how things are different in different countries. Learning about the engagement between engineers and other stakeholders and how different contracts effect different parts. I went through how the contracts work including a variety of new terminology which has been very useful for me.
Mipac: So how does this certification contribute to your long-term career goals?
Yasser: Since I joined Mipac, over a year ago now. I’ve been working with our valued customer, EVR (Teck), a Canadian-based company. With this license, more opportunities will open up, allowing Mipac to expand its ability to offer engineering services across various locations in Canada.
Mipac: What advice would you give other engineers who are considering pursuing this qualification?
Yasser: So, either within the team or not, I would recommend anyone to go to CPEng (Chartered Professional Engineer) from Engineers Australia. Engineers in Queensland can gain their certification from Queensland Board of Engineers to have (RPEQ). However, I would recommend CP.Eng pathway because it gives you more exposure to many opportunities. Additionally, it will get you a short pathway if you seek international recognition such as the one in Canada.
Mipac: What advice would you give other engineers who are considering pursuing this qualification?
Yasser: Roughly 10 months
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