NZCE – Last Chance to Complete Work Experience Requirements

Engineers around the country should now be aware that the final date for the award of the old New Zealand Certificate in Engineering (NZCE) qualification is 31 December 2008.

All engineers who have completed the academic requirements for the NZCE are encouraged to get the formal recognition that they deserve by completing the required record of their work experience for assessment by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA).

Recent discussions with senior NZQA staff indicate that they are receiving a steady stream of applications as the deadline looms, but time is quickly running out and beyond 31 December there will be no further opportunity to submit. Indeed, to ensure that they have some opportunity to resubmit evidence in response to any gaps that may be identified in their portfolio, candidates are strongly encouraged to submit documentation by 31 October.

NZQA has published general advice www.nzqa.govt.nz/qualifications/tertqual/ava/advice.html and qualification specific guidelines, for example www.nzqa.govt.nz/qualifications/tertqual/ava/docs/eng-civil.doc which candidates should consider carefully in putting together their submission.

We have become aware of examples of civil engineering candidates who have had previous submissions declined by NZQA. It seems that this is because the submission has not included sufficient information on:

the nature of the work undertaken
the candidate’s actual contribution to the work
the links between the work experience and the categories of work that are recognised as relevant by NZQA.
The level of responsibility that has been achieved

Following discussion with NZQA we advise all candidates to:

Be careful to describe work experience in personal terms describing what they personally have done and achieved. This should include specific information about their personal contribution to team based projects or activities.
Make clear the scale of an activity/project – e.g. budget, staffing, timeframe
Be clear about the outcomes that were achieved for significant projects or activities referenced
Relate each key work experience record to each of the categories of work specified in the qualification specific guidelines (see below for comment specific to civil/structural engineering))
Provide a summary of how the work experience demonstrates the development of the areas of Fundamental Practical Knowledge set out in the guidelines (see below for specific comment).
Be clear about the progression in skills, abilities and responsibilities. This is to ensure that skills and abilities have developed and responsibilities have increased over the period of work experience.
Be sure to get their employer/supervisor to sign off on each Work Experience Record Sheet

Relating work experience to categories of work - Civil/Structural

The specific guidelines for civil engineering identify three categories of work, and candidates are expected to be able to demonstrate some experience in each of these, or extensive experience in at least one. It is important to consider the general description of each category carefully, as well as the specific examples of activities that are listed. These are not prescriptive lists of activities that candidates have to demonstrate experience in. Equally, just because an activity is not listed, does not necessarily mean the experience is not relevant. Some additional comments follow in relation to each category, which may be of some assistance to some civil/structural candidates,

Investigation, Research, Testing and Operating.

The examples of activities listed by NZQA under this category give little recognition to the “Operating” element that is listed in the title, while the initial scoping statement also references “Reporting” as a relevant activity. Candidates who have had limited experience of an investigative or testing nature, might like to site examples of activities that relate to the “Operation” of other specialised equipment or the production of different types of reports in a civil/structural engineering context.

Design and Development

Activities listed in the NZQA guidelines tend to focus on draughting and design activities, but candidates who have not had design or draughting office experience, may like to reference examples of their contribution to the “Development” of civil/structural engineering artefacts, that involved engineering problem solving, perhaps in an on-site context, associated with such things as: design interpretation and implementation; site set up; on-site traffic management planning; work sequencing and scheduling etc.

Contract Management and Supervision

Candidates may have undertaken a number of the activities listed under this category, but may not have done so in a formal contract management setting. If so, candidates could, for example, look to relate their experiences working to internal organisational standards and requirements and/or supervision/management experience in a more general civil/structural engineering context.

Fundamental Practical Knowledge – civil/structural

It is recommended that candidates also take the time to (briefly) relate their work experience to the areas of Fundamental Practical Knowledge as described in the guidelines.

These are listed as:

Ability to comprehend plans and drawings produced by others
Ability to produce simple sketches and drawings (hand drawn or CAD) to convey the concept
Basic understanding of the use of construction material commonly used
Awareness of safe practices.

Candidates should also briefly describe how their work experience demonstrates progression and development of their skills, abilities and responsibilities.

OPTIONS

Candidates who have only partially completed the academic requirements for the NZCE, are no longer in a position to have the NZCE awarded, but could contact their local ITP to discuss options for credit transfer to the most appropriate replacement academic qualification. Providers offering engineering technician education programmes include:

	Phone:	Web:
Northland Polytechnic	0800 80 88 56	www.northland.ac.nz
Unitec New Zealand	0800 10 95 10	www.unitec.ac.nz
Manukau Institute of Technology	0800 62 62 52	www.manukau.ac.nz
Waikato Institute of Technology	0800 294 6832	www.wintec.ac.nz
Wellington Institute of Technology	0800 93 58 32	www.weltec.ac.nz
Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology	0800 24 24 76	www.cpit.ac.nz
Otago Polytechnic	0800 76 27 86	www.tekotago.ac.nz
New Zealand Institute of Highway Technology	07 850 8330	www.nziht.co.nz
AUT University	09 921 9999	www.aut.ac.nz
UCOL	0800 GO UCOL	www.ucol.ac.nz
TOPNZ	0508 650 200	www.topnz.ac.nz