APEGA competencies · Category 1
APEGA competency 1.4: Application of Theory
- Category1 · Technical Competence
- Category averageCategory minimum average: 3.0
- MinimumMinimum not published by APEGA on its public pages
Self-ratings are your own assessment; only APEGA's Board of Examiners assesses competencies.
01 What this competency covers
In our own words, the things APEGA’s indicators look for:
- Uses engineering theory and calculations to support design decisions
- Checks a design against first principles
- Develops a solution where no standard method applies
02 The rating levels
Each competency is rated from 0 to 5. A short reading of each level for a technical competency, in our words:
- 0
- No exposure to this competency yet.
- 1
- Basic awareness; has done simple tasks under close direction.
- 2
- Does routine tasks with regular guidance and review.
- 3
- Does typical work independently; asks for input on unusual problems.
- 4
- Handles complex or unfamiliar problems and guides others.
- 5
- Acts as a reference for others and shapes how the work is done.
03 How to document it
Write one example in three parts. Situation: the project, your role and what was at stake, in two or three sentences. Actions: what you did yourself, in the first person, the decisions you made and why; this is the part where the competency has to show. Outcome: what happened because of your actions, and what you learned or would do differently.
Choose a position from your experience record where you carried the work yourself, not one where you watched others do it. Assign the example to a validator who knew that work directly: someone who supervised you in that period or held technical responsibility for it. For work done in Canada, that means a P.Eng. or P.Geo. registered during the period. Relatives are not accepted, and APEGA's Board of Examiners decides whether a validator is acceptable.
Keep the evidence while it is still easy to find: a drawing or report number, a meeting note, the email that records a decision. It helps you write accurately months later and helps your validator recall the work. Store it with the example rather than in a folder you will forget, and leave out anything confidential to your employer or client.
04 Other competencies in Technical Competence
- 1.1 Regulations, Codes, and Standards
- 1.2 Technical and Design Constraints
- 1.3 Risk Management for Technical Work
- 1.5 Solution Techniques – Results Verification
- 1.6 Safety in Design and Technical Work
- 1.7 Systems and Their Components
- 1.8 Project or Asset Life Cycle
- 1.9 Quality Assurance
- 1.10 Engineering Documentation
Document it as you go
PaceTracker’s Competency Log keeps your positions, your self-ratings and one Situation, Actions and Outcome example per competency in one private record, ready to paste into APEGA’s CBAT when you apply. It never sends anything to APEGA.
See how the Competency Log worksHow the whole assessment fits together: The APEGA P.Eng. application: how the competency-based assessment works. All 22 competencies: the competency index.