Graduate ka ba ng Engineering sa ‘Pinas?

by Ethel Clemente-Fernandez

	Dr. Marolo Alfaro, P.Eng, delivering the opening remarks
	Ray Sator, EIT presenting the roadmap to P.Eng/P.Geo

When the Mentorship/Membership Committee (MMC) of the Filipino Members Chapter-Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba (FMC) first proposed an orientation session event, the goal was to get at most 60 participants. And so, a venue with a maximum capacity of 60 people was booked.

The target audience was engineering and geoscience graduates from the Philippines, who have yet to start the process of becoming professional engineers or geoscientists in the province of Manitoba and who have yet to become a member of FMC.

When the announcement was posted through various Filipino community social networking sites, with this article’s title as the heading, the chapter got an overwhelming response. The final count of interested participants reached to 289!

And though there’s always a chance that not all the registrants would show up, a decision was immediately made to move to a bigger venue to accommodate over 200.

Currently, there are six different options for internationally educated engineers to choose from to satisfy the academic qualifications requirement to become a member-in-training with Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba.

Fortunately, the FMC’s membership has grown over the years, so there are members who can speak for each of the option at the event.

On November 5, from 12:30 to 4:00 pm, the “Engineering Credential Recognition Process Orientation” was held at the Philippine Canadian Centre of Manitoba, where a total of 171 participants attended. Though this number is less than 50 per cent of those who originally sent their interest to participate, this is still a great turnout and the event was considered hugely successful, as this is almost 300 per cent over the original target audience of 60.

Dr. Marolo Alfaro, one of the founding members of the chapter, delivered the opening remarks on behalf of Ramon Cairo, the first chapter president. MMC chair and chapter VP Finance, Ray Sator, discussed the process of becoming a professional engineer or geoscientist in the province of Manitoba.

Seven chapter members graciously accepted the invitation to speak at this event to provide more information, inspire and encourage participants to pursue becoming professional engineers and geoscientists:

1. Jeraldine Velasco, EIT – Confirmatory Exams
2. Rodel Hernandez, P.Eng – Equivalent University Courses
3. Gerard Batara, P.Eng – Equivalent Courses/ IEEQ
4. Romeo Zoleta, P.Eng – Interview
5. Earl de Guzman, EIT – Masters in Engineering
6. Maurice Petallo, EIT – Fundamentals of Engineering Exam
7. Edwin Madera, EIT – Fundamentals of Engineering Exam

I, as the chapter president, was supposed to deliver the closing remarks, but ran out of time to do so. Thus, I would like to take this opportunity to convey part of my speech to all participants at the event:

“…Congratulations to all of you who took this first step to become professional engineers or geoscientists. Each of us has various reasons why we took that first step and I will tell you mine. I took that first step, because I didn’t want my parents’ sacrifices to go to waste – their hard work of putting me through university to get that engineering degree. Thus, I told myself that wherever I go, I’d do whatever it took to work and be recognized as an engineer. We provided you with loads of information and you might not remember some of it, but I would like you to remember two things: First, remember the reason why you took this first step and second, remember that we, the Filipino Members Chapter, are here to guide and assist you every step of the way…”

Ethel Clemente-Fernandez is a professional engineer registered in the province of Manitoba. She is an active member of the Filipino Members Chapter - Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Manitoba (FMC-APEGM).