Professional Access Enhanced for Internationally Trained Geoscientists Through PAIE Program

By Norm S.W. Williams, Ph.D., P. Eng.
APGO is partnering with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) in the deployment of its new Professional Access and Integration Enhancement (PAIE) Program for internationally trained geoscientists (and planners). As the APGO's Executive Director & Registrar and as a member of the Program Advisory Committee, I played a major role in the program's development.

In addition to giving training in workplace and related practices, the program will provide participants with paid full-time relevant job placement to help them meet the important work-experience licensing requirement. Internationally trained geoscientists and others agree that this latter feature distinguishes this program from all of the existing ones.

The PAIE Program has a very ambitious, yet realistic and achievable, goal. It has the potential to enhance access to professional geoscience licensure for APGO's current and future international geoscience applicants. This will give the participants an opportunity to satisfy the much sought-after work experience in a Canadian environment (or its equivalent) for APGO licensure and enable registration as a realistic expectation. It provides for a win-win-win situation: the international geoscience professionals, their employers and all Ontarians stand to benefit.

In accordance with the Ontario Professional Geoscientists Act, 2000, an individual can engage in the conduct of a geoscientific activity supervised by a licensed APGO member who assumes responsibility for the work.

The program is funded by the provincial Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. Geoscience participants must meet certain criteria. They include:

• Hold at least a Bachelor's of Science degree (in a geoscience area), obtained from an institution outside of Canada and that is equivalent to one conferred by a Canadian university;
• Possess overseas work experience in geoscience;
• Demonstrate good verbal and written English language proficiency;
• Eligible for membership in APGO's geoscientist-in-training program; and,
• Be a resident of Toronto or one of the regions of Peel, York or Durham.

For more information on APGO, please contact info@apgo.net

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Field Notes is published by APGO and is edited by Wendy Diaz, P.Geo. If you have comments or wish to contribute material to this newsletter, please contact Wendy Diaz, P.Geo., or Norman Williams, P.Eng., Executive Director/Registar.

Copyright 2006, Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (APGO)