ACQUISITION OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCY DURING THE APPRENTICESHIP OF GEOLOGISTS-IN-TRAINING: NEW GUIDANCE FOR SUPERVISED PRACTICE UNDER QUEBEC REGULATIONS

Eligibility to a professional geologist’s permit in Quebec is based on a legally accredited degree in earth sciences and relevant experience.

Acquisition of relevant experience has been left largely to the workplace. With an influx of offshore trained applicants and evolving practice, in 2008, OGQ decided to develop a competence compendium for entry level geologists and, subsequently, relevant assessment tools. The competence compendium was completed May 2012 and tools for guiding apprenticeship of GIT were completed March 2014 for implementation September 2014.

Competence is adequate performance of real life tasks; it involves the capacity to effectively apply knowledge, knowhow and personal attributes in solving problems or doing tasks with respect to certain criteria. OGQ entry to practice competence compendium takes a holistic approach defining 3 overlapping sets of competencies from professional competencies, drilling down to functional competencies. Functional competencies are the foundations to be largely acquired at the time of graduation. Contextual competencies are directly linked to professional practice and encompass a small number of tasks performed by geologists in one of 3 fields of work (resource geology, engineering and environmental geology, geophysics and remote sensing). Each task includes all activities linked to a real life project.

Competencies were divided into those largely acquired through university training and those through relevant practical experience. This forms the basis for: one, future revisions of accredited university degree programs; second, providing instrumentation for guidance and assessment for the apprenticeship of GITs under supervision.

This instrumentation provides templates for planning and reporting on the performance of tasks expected of an entry-level geologist (e.g., site investigation: including proposal, project logistics, and field work and reporting). This will guide the GIT and the supervisor and allow reporting of progress by the GIT in the form of a portfolio with supervisor feedback. These tools guide the professional development (in supervised practice under a legal authorization) of the GIT for: seven specified professional competencies, two contextual competencies chosen by the GIT, and six key personal attributes.