The efforts of volunteers have been a vital part of the work of Engineers Canada since its inception. For all of its history, Engineers Canada has been an organization that has relied heavily on the efforts of volunteers.
The efforts of volunteers have been a vital part of the work of Engineers Canada since its inception. For all of its history, Engineers Canada has been an organization that has relied heavily on the efforts of volunteers.
As Engineers Canada celebrates National Volunteer Week, we’re reflecting on the impact volunteers have had on our organization. The majority of the accomplishments that Engineers Canada has seen could not be possible without the contribution of volunteers. Here are just a few examples:
- In a typical year, Engineers Canada conducts over a dozen accreditation visits. These visits depend on a team of volunteers who conduct on-site visits, review materials, and work to prepare a report for the Accreditation Board to consider. Add this all together, and accreditation benefits from thousands of hours of volunteer effort every year. This would be impossible to achieve without volunteers.
- The Qualifications Board has developed numerous active regulator guidelines, public guidelines, white papers, and syllabi. These are reviewed regularly, and additional materials are in the works. These documents provide recommendations that enable the assessment of engineering qualifications, foster excellence in engineering regulation and practice, and facilitate the mobility of engineers in Canada. They are an important component in maintaining a rigorous, consistent, and high-quality regulatory framework for engineering in Canada.
- Our National Position Statements set out the consensus positions of the provincial and territorial engineering regulatory bodies of Engineers Canada on a number of topics, ranging from climate change to infrastructure on First Nation Reserves in remote communities, to professional practice in software engineering. These positions are developed in collaboration with volunteers on our Public Affairs Advisory Committee, and promoted to the federal government and other stakeholders by our Bridging Government and Engineers Committee. These volunteers are instrumental in shifting the needle among MPs and senior government officials on critical issues affecting Canadians.
- Our diversity and outreach work relies on an active commitment from engineers across Canada who are willing to share their expertise and passion for the profession with others. From our 30 by 30 Champions who are working to attract more women to engineering, to our hundreds of Future City judges and mentors who have sparked an interest in engineering in youth, our volunteers are at the heart of our efforts to make engineering a more diverse and inclusive profession.
This is only a sliver of the total contribution of volunteers for Engineers Canada. More could be written about the contribution of volunteers toward our awards and scholarships program, Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee, the Accreditation Unit Task Force, and subject matter experts for syllabi development. And of course, we cannot underestimate the role of directors and advisors to our Board, who provide strategic direction for Engineers Canada, navigating the rocks and rapids that present themselves along the way.
Working with a dedicated volunteer force motivates our staff. We see the enthusiasm and passion that they bring to their volunteer work, and it inspires us to ensure we’re creating high quality work.
Engineers Canada isn’t just a stronger, more successful organization because of volunteers. It simply would not exist without them. And so, as we celebrate National Volunteer Week, we extend the most heartfelt thanks to our current volunteers and thousands of past volunteers who have helped us to serve the collective interests of the regulators, and to promote and maintain the interests, honour and integrity of the Canadian engineering profession.
