Consider Bringing Your Governance Experience to APEGA Council

Applications to become an APEGA Council candidate are open until September 18, and if you’re a professional engineer or geoscientist with strength in this year’s recruitment priorities, we encourage you to apply today!

APEGA’s Nominating Committee assesses and nominates the most suitable candidates for APEGA’s election ballot, and each year, the committee searches for professionals who demonstrate the competencies that would best serve APEGA Council in the coming terms.

APEGA Past-President Terri Steeves, FEC, FGC (Hon.), P.Eng., ICD.D, vice-chair of the Nominating Committee, understands the importance and impact of finding the right people to fill these roles. “As a councillor, you are a leader in the professions, you are at the helm of an organization, and you are setting the strategic direction of engineering and geoscience for the next two years and beyond. What an amazing experience as a volunteer. Now, imagine filling this role during such an exciting and dynamic time with the organization coming under the Professional Governance Act in 2027.”

Steeves explains how critical it is to have councillors with the necessary skills to make successful decisions for the future of the professions. “Strong governance requires, most importantly, effective fiduciary oversight—the process of overseeing the management of assets or resources, managing risk, and ensuring accountability in the best interests of the organization, which is one of the greatest privileges of the role.”

The many benefits to being a councillor, Steeves relays, include learning from the diverse perspectives you’ll encounter, solving complex problems together, receiving training in governance skills, and networking.

Top Three APEGA Council Competencies

The Nominating Committee is seeking council applicants for the 2027 election with relevant governance knowledge and experience, which can include:

• experience serving on a governance board or committee
• experience establishing the processes and policies required to ensure effective oversight at a non-operational level
• acting within the distinction of board responsibilities
• knowledge of procedures, protocols, and rules of engagement that guide governing bodies

Additionally, they are seeking applicants with strong regulatory understanding, such as:

• experience working or volunteering within a regulatory environment
• an understanding of what it means to be regulated as a professional and the various steps of the regulatory process
• knowledge of APEGA’s roles and responsibilities in regulating the professions
• knowledge of the risks and challenges associated with self-regulation, relevant legislation, and APEGA’s statutory boards and committees
• in-depth knowledge of professional governing bodies

The third top competency a candidate for council should have is a strategic mindset, including:

• the ability to ask questions and explore possibilities, displaying thought leadership and forethought of present and future states
• experience defining an organization’s longer-term strategic direction, and aligning resources in pursuit of that direction