Transcript Document

Engineering Council of South Africa
(ECSA)
An Overview
Council on Higher Education
28 February 2012
Dr Ossie Franks
ECSA
www.ecsa.co.za
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Presentation Outline
•
History & mandate of the engineering profession in SA
•
Registration and challenges
•
Education functions
•
Accreditation of eng. Programmes and challenges
•
Regulation of professional conduct
•
Setting standards
•
Non statutory or strategic functions
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The Engineering Profession
•
ECSA: A statutory body created by Acts of 1968, 1990, 2000
•
Regulates the practice of engineering in South Africa through
– Registration
– Accreditation of engineering education programmes
– Regulating Professional Conduct
– Setting standards for education and registration
•
Acts in the interests of the public, advises government, undertakes
strategic initiatives
•
ECSA partners with the engineering voluntary associations, e.g.
– SA Institution of Chemical Engineers (SAIChE)
– SA Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE)
– SA Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE)
– SA Institution of Mechanical Engineering (SAIMechE)
– More …
3
Relationships in the Profession
ECSA
Functions:
•Register
•Accredit
•Regulate Professional
Conduct
•Set Standards
•Act in the interests of
the public
•Advise government
Recognition
Nominate Council and
Committee Members
Provider Peer Assessors,
Accreditors, Investigators
Presidents Forum
Engineering
Voluntary
Associations
AeSSA
SAIAE
SAIChE
SAICE
SAIEE
SAIIE
SAIMechE
SAIMM
CESA
IPET
COET
+ …..
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ECSA’s Core Functions
• Registration of
– Professionals
– Candidates
– Specified categories
• Renewal of registration and CPD
• Accreditation of engineering programmes
• Recognition and evaluation of qualifications
– Conduct examinations
• Define and enforce professional conduct
• Identification of work
• Define guideline fees for professional services
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Protecting the Public Interest Through
Registration
• Identify and recognise the competency levels of
members of the profession
• Ensure acceptable educational standards
• Ensure standards of practice in the profession; and
• Control the professional conduct of members of the
profession.
Key Idea: The competence of
engineering practitioners is essential
to protecting the public interest
Policy Document 1999
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Categories of Registration
Professionals
Candidates
• Professional Engineers
• Professional Engineering Technologists
• Professional Engineering Technicians
• Professional Certificated Engineer
Specified Categories
• Lift Inspector
• Lifting Machinery Inspector
• Medical Equipment Maintainer
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Candidate Categories of Registration
Purpose: A candidate is training and gaining experience and may do
engineering work under supervision of a professional
Candidate Categories:
– Candidate Engineers
– Candidate Engineering Technologists
– Candidate Engineering Technicians
– Candidate Certificated Engineer
Requirements: The applicant must satisfy educational outcomes
by:
– Holding an accredited qualification; or
– Holding a qualification recognised under an international
agreement; or
– Is evaluated as substantially equivalent to an accredited
qualification
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Professional Development Model
Practice
Observe Code of
Conduct and
Maintain CPD
Professional Registration
Training
And
Experience
Meet Standard
For Professional
Competency
Candidate Registration
Graduation
Accredited
Programme
Meet Standard
for Engineering
Education
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Professional Development Process
Level
Problem Solving
In Engineering
Context
Attributes for
entry to
independent
practice
Taking
Responsibility
Attributes of a
graduate of
an accredited
programme
Management in
Engineering
Context
Time – Minimum 3 years
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Professional Registration Requirements
For registration as a professional in a category, the
applicant must
(a) satisfy the relevant educational outcomes determined by
council
(b) demonstrate competence as measured against
standards determined by the council
Note: (a) is equivalent to the candidate requirements.
After graduation, at least 3 years (usually much more) of
training and experience required for registration
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Some Registration Statistics (as at 30 November 2011)
• Professional Engineers
• Professional Engineering Technologists
15115
3998
• Professional Engineering/Other Technicians 3792
• Professional Certificated Engineers
1066
• Specified Categories
1048
• Candidate Engineers
6480
• Candidate Engineering Technologists
2421
• Candidate Engineering Technicians
3771
• Candidate Certificated Engineers
Total
257
38014
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Registration Challenges
• Peer assessment relies on scarce volunteer
engineering practitioners as assessors
• In throes of major revision to registration system:
– Policy review and revision completed
– Migrating from training standards (inputs) to competency
standards (outputs)
– Moving from paper-based system to IT-based system
with workflow and document management
• Training in industry toward registration (candidacy
programme) is not delivering
•
Countering the misperception that ECSA “gate keeps”
entry to the profession
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Programs Considered for Accreditation
Meeting Education
Requirement for
Engineering
Qualification
Univ/
UoT
Prog
8
52
Candidate and Professional BTech (after accredited
Engineering Technologist
National Diploma)
10
100
Candidate and Professional National Diploma
Engineering Technician
10
87
Candidate and Professional BEng/BSc(Eng)
Engineer
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HEQF Migration
Meeting Education
Requirement for
Registration as
Candidate and
Professional Engineer
Candidate and
Professional
Engineering
Technologist
Candidate and
Professional
Engineering
Technician
Engineering Qualification
Existing
HEQF Compliant
BEng/BSc(Eng)
(No change)
BTech + National
Diploma
National Diploma
360 credit L7 Bachelor
or
360 credit L6 Diploma +
L7 Advanced Diploma
360 credit L6 Diploma
or
240 credit L6 Diploma +
L6 Advanced Certificate
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ECSA Accreditation Criteria (E-03-P)
Criterion 1: Programme objectives, structure, content,
balance, coherent core
– Detailed programme type criteria in standard E-02-Px
Criterion 2: The specified exit level outcomes are
assessed
– Outcomes for programme type criteria in E-02-Px
Criterion 3: Quality of teaching and learning
– Incorporates agreed CHE criteria
Criterion 4: Resources for and sustainability of the
programme
– Incorporates agreed CHE criteria
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Educational Accords
International educational agreements provide for:
– Mutual recognition
• involving periodic monitoring of signatories’ processes
– Benchmarking,
• via consensus graduate attributes and gap analysis
of programmes providing the educational foundation for
practice in each category
Washington Accord
Professional Engineer
Sydney Accord
Professional Engineering
Technologist
Dublin Accord
Professional Engineering
Technician
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Accreditation Challenges
• Engineering academic community is overextended
– Aggravates burden of quality and quality assurance
– Participation of academics as ECSA accreditation
evaluators could be curtailed
• HEQF migration for technology qualifications
– Uncertainty about end date of revision of HEQF
– Different providers moving at different rates
• Regional Dimension
– Already engaged with Namibia, Botswana interested, …
– Could soon have 50% increase in programmes to
evaluate
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Regulation of Professional Conduct
• ECSA is required by the Act to:
– Have a code of professional conduct
– Investigate complaints of misconduct against registered
persons
– Conduct tribunals
– Alternate processes: guilty plea, ….
– Impose sanctions on persons found guilty
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Code of Professional Conduct
Rule of Conduct for Registered Persons requires
observance of
• The interests of humanity and environment
• Accepted norms of professional conduct
• Work only within limits of own competency
• Honouring the standing of the profession
• Improvement of skills
• Encouraging excellence within the profession
• Act Ethically
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The Engineering Standards Generating Body
Roles & Responsibilities of the ESGB
– Developing generic engineering qualifications,
– Ensuring that the standards developed are internationally
comparable
– Ensuring that standards conform to principles of the
National Qualifications Framework (NQF)
– Ensuring that qualifications developed provide access
into the profession and provide articulation and
progression within the profession
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Standards in Existence
Candidate and Professional Engineer:
Bachelor of Engineering-type programmes
Candidate and Professional Engineering Technologist:
Bachelor of Engineering Technology
Advanced Diploma in Engineering
Candidate and Professional Engineering Technician
Diploma in xxxxx Engineering
Advanced Certificate in xxxxx Engineering
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ECSA’s Strategic or Non Statutory
Functions
• Research into key aspects of the profession
• Funded candidacy phase training programme
• National dialogue on stakeholder training responsibilities
• Registration of foreign engineering practitioners
• Registration value proposition (Why register with ECSA?)
• Promotion of SET careers to attract diversity
•
Strategy for transforming ECSA & Engineering Profession
•
Hosting WFEO’s Eng. Capacity Building Committee
•
Accreditation work with Southern African countries
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