Question:

What happens if I am working for an organization that has no registered professional engineers on the staff?

Answer:

Question:

How can I find a Mentor?

Answer:

If you are preparing to register on your own then you will have to find a mentor yourself. The easiest way to do this is to find out if there are registered engineers in the organization you work for. This could be your immediate supervisor or someone in another department who you can approach to be your mentor and referee. It is also a good strategy to join the local branch of SAIMechE and attend the technical presentations and meetings. Discuss your needs with your fellow attendees and find out if anyone is willing to be a Mentor or Referee.

Are there different ways that a candidate can achieve competence?

Answer:

There are a variety of ways in which competence can be achieved. You can use the PDP material and work on your own at your place of work, acquiring a Mentor (who is qualified to provide the service), or by joining a PDP cell that has a Mentor assigned to it for your particular location and this requires your attendance at one workshop per month for 11 months per annum.

What is the fundamental document that sets the scene for the development of competency and professionalism and forms the basis of the curriculum for the PDP?

Answer:

The fundamental document supporting the development of professional competency and used to develop the PDP is “The SAIMechE Standard of Professional Competency”. This document has international support and is based on the “ECSA Standard of Professional Competency”.

Question.

I have become a member of SAIMechE. How do I find the Professional Development Programme (PDP) information?

Question:

I have just graduated and want to know how I can register with ECSA as a Professional Engineer, Technologist or Technician?

Answer:

Go to the website www.ecsa.co.za and click on “Candidacy Programmes” where you will find all the documents required to inform you how to locate the applicable Candidate Phase documents including procedures and formats. Read the documents and follow the instructions.

Note that you will have to have at least 3 years experience after graduating before you can apply for registration. Once registered as a Candidate then go back to the ECSA website and look for the documents under “Registration Process”. Read the documents and follow the instructions and you will know what you will need to do to enable registration after your training period is completed.

Question.

I have just graduated and want to know what I can do to become a competent professional engineer, develop myself  and make progress in my career?

Answer: The first thing you need to do is become a member of SAIMechE if you have not already done so as a student. This will give you access to the SAIMechE website and thereafter access to the mechanical engineering community and Professional Development Programme (PDP) Group upon application to join. Here you will find a number of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) and considered answers relating to your options.

You must get the skills necessary to succeed in the professional environment. You probably were not taught these skills during your studies. These skills are described as learning outcomes in the Standard of Professional Competency. Understand the skills and how they are used in the professional environment. Incorporate the skills in your work and use the work as evidence of your ability. Do work of increasing complexity. Keep a record of your work as evidence.