ASET aiming to help engineering technologists find appropriate employment in Alberta

John Watson,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A recent survey conducted by the Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta (ASET) has indicated members who are internationally trained professionals are finding Alberta to be an attractive destination to work and live.

Via a release, ASET stated over 92 per cent of respondents to the survey said they liked working in Alberta, citing an abundance of job opportunities in their field, strong economics, and proximity to the oil and gas industry.

Strathmore is currently home to 33 ASET members. It was not revealed on average how long they have been in town, nor their fields of expertise.

“We wanted to find out generally, we know we have a number of internationally trained professionals in the organization, and we have been focussed on being able to accommodate them and being able to assess them properly when they arrive,” said Barry Cavanaugh, CEO and general council of ASET. “We finally got the point where we thought we should find out what they think about all this, and we had a few other questions that we thought we should ask them too. How did they end up in Alberta, why they chose Alberta.”

It was also indicated via the release, due to ASET’s direct efforts, Alberta was the first province to eliminate the Canadian work experience requirement for engineering technology professionals.

According to survey results, over 35 per cent of survey respondents were not able to find work in their professional field upon their arrival in Canada. Within that group, over half had said it was due to employers requiring Canadian work experience.

As a result of this, over 76 per cent of the subject group had to take work outside their professional field in order to meet their living expenses.

“We just wanted to make sure we were treating everybody fairly, and assessing their qualifications accurately,” said Cavanaugh. “It is still frustrating to find that a lot of people can arrive in this province, or in this country and not even be able to find out how to be qualified … I think it is important that people be able to find work in their field that they are qualified and capable of doing … it is really disturbing to think of someone who comes here as an engineering technologist … and quite capable of performing that work, and somehow winds up for years driving a taxi or working in a convenience store. That is not acceptable.”

Cavanaugh added the ongoing battle for ASET is in regards to awareness about the organization, and hopes to see more of the word spread that they exist and are able to assist qualified professionals to find appropriate employment.

More information about ASET, as well as their examinations and services, is available online.

John Watson,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Strathmore Times