If you completed your education in Canada, here is the process to follow in order to join OACETT and complete the certification process.
Proof of Legal Name
To earn the right to use the OACETT protected titles C.Tech. or C.E.T., engineering technology and applied science professionals must meet specific requirements. These minimum requirements for certification with OACETT are:
- Graduation from a 2-year or 3-year Ontario post-secondary engineering technology or applied science program or equivalent1
- Minimum two years of appropriate level experience (technician or technologist)
- A facility with the working language of the discipline and a facility with the standards, codes and practices of the discipline in which certification is being sought. Normally these are gained by working in Canada for one year.
- Demonstrated English language proficiency of a minimum of Level 7 for all skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking) on the Canadian Language Benchmarks, Canada’s national language proficiency framework. Normally demonstrated by graduation froma Canadian college engineering technology program.
- Successful completion of the OACETT Professional Practice Exam (PPE).
- For C.E.T. only, successful completion of a Technology Proposal and Report (TR).
- Minimum 18 years old and of good character.
- Completion of the certification requirements within three or six years from date of file review, depending on whether you have been assigned further academic competencies to complete. You will be given a completion date as a result of the file review.
Consult the OACETT
Fee Schedule for the applicable fees for the type of application you are completing and for the annual fees. If you have any questions about which fees and dues apply to you, please call our office (416-621-9621).
When submitting your application to OACETT, be sure to include the following:
- Photocopy of your Canadian birth certificate, Canadian Permanent Resident Card (front & back) or Record of Landing – Form IMM 1000 (front & back).
- Arrange for your school to send your official post-secondary transcript by mail directly to OACETT or by email to certify@oacett.org. If submitted by email your transcript must come directly from the institution.
- Copy of a detailed job description (current or previous), signed by your supervisor.
- Copy of a detailed resume.
- Names and email addresses of three professional references who can comment on your work. List them on your application form. If possible, one should be your current supervisor.
- Application fee.
- The Institute of Engineering Technology of Ontario (IETO), OACETT's certification and registration division, reviews your application. IETO notifies you by email within four to six weeks if you are eligible and if so, registers you as an Associate member while you work towards certification. At this time, you will be invoiced for your annual membership dues.
If you are a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada, to prove legal name, submit a photocopy of ONE of the following items listed below from 1 to 5. If you are adopting a spousal name, you must submit a Marriage Certificate plus one of the items from 1 to 5. Please note that we do not accept a driver's licence or health card as proof of legal name.
- Valid Canadian Passport.
- Canadian Birth Certificate.
- Canadian Citizenship Identification. Note that both sides of the wallet-sized Canadian Citizenship ID card or the citizenship certificate issued after February 1, 2012 are required. Those who obtained Canadian Citizenship prior to February 15, 1977, must submit a copy of the document issued (other than the wallet card) at the time by Citizenship Canada.
- Permanent Resident Card from the government of Canada or IMM 1000, IMM 5292 or IMM 5688 Form.
- Official Canadian Name Change Certificate
If you are not a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada, to prove legal name, submit a photocopy of the identification page from your valid passport and ONE of the following items listed below, from the Canadian government.
- Valid Temporary Residence Visa
- Valid Study Permit
- Valid Work Permit
If you cannot provide proof of legal name documents at the time of your application, they will be required before certification is granted.
Please contact us at certify@oacett.org if you need assistance on providing any of the proof of legal name documents listed.
It is your ongoing responsibility to keep OACETT informed of any changes to your legal name or status in Canada while you are a member.
If your legal ID displays that you have only one name; when completing your application please place your name in both the first name and last name fields.
Good Character Policy
To maintain the high ethical standards of the engineering technology and applied science profession, OACETT requires that all members be of good character. To confirm good character, all applicants to OACETT must declare as part of their application that they fall within OACETT's requirements for good character. To review the requirements and the rest of the good character policy, click
here.
As a first step you must select the discipline in which you are going to apply for certification. The following are your choices:
- Bioscience
- Building
- Chemical
- Civil
- Computer
- Electrical
- Electronics
- Environmental
- Geological
- Geomatics
- Industrial
- Instrumentation
- Mechanical
- Mining
- Resources
All applicants must demonstrate English language proficiency equivalent to a Level 7 for all skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking) on the Canadian Language Benchmarks, Canada’s national language proficiency framework. Canadian educated applicants may meet the English language requirement by either of the following: graduation from a Canadian two or three year post-secondary engineering technology or applied science program; or applying with a minimum of 60 academic points (Associate level) plus successful completion of the OACETT certification requirements.
Your job description and resume are used to confirm your minimum of two years of relevant work experience at the level expected of a technician or technologist. It is extremely important that your job description accurately reflects the duties that you are responsible for and provides enough information that the OACETT Admissions Committee can fully assess your experience and knowledge. The committee can only review what is provided to them and if documentation is not complete, you may be disappointed with a lower level of certification than expected. It is recommended that a discussion with the human resource department or with your supervisor occurs if your job description does not fully demonstrate the important tasks that you are responsible for before submitting to OACETT.
We require a job description submission of your current role with your current employer. If you have not been with your current employer for at least two years, you may provide job descriptions from former employers as well. See the
Job Description Guidelines. If you’re not currently working, or not working in your discipline, refer to the guidelines for further information.
Experience with co-ops, internships, or other similar programs can be counted towards the two year minimum. Up to one year of experience may be credited if: you attended a nationally accredited program, or your supervisor during the placement was a certified member of OACETT or a licensed professional such as a P.Eng. If your co-op experience does not match either of those requirements, it will be counted at 50% of the time worked, up to a maximum of 6 months. You must submit a job description for co-op just like any other employer. If you supervisor was a certified member of OACETT or a licensed professional, have them include their membership number and license number (if applicable) alongside their signature on your job description.
Your application also includes a current resume. See the
Resume Guidelines. Please follow the guidelines as closely as possible.
OACETT uses professional reference questionnaires along with your job description and resume to assess your experience for the technician or technologist category.
List the name and addresses of your references in the space provided on the application form. Give the names of at least three persons (preferably your current and past supervisor, engineering technologists, technicians, professional engineers or other professionals) who have a good knowledge of your capabilities and work experience. If you are self-employed, you may use clients as references.
References cannot be provided by those who are related to you by birth or marriage.
OACETT will send a confidential reference questionnaire to each of your references. We must receive at least two completed questionnaires in order to move your application forward to the Admissions Committee. The application must be complete with all other required documentation as listed on the application.
When your application is complete IETO’s Admissions Committee will evaluate your academics and work experience with an Academic Review and an Experience Review. The file review takes 16 weeks after we receive all the documentation listed above. It’s important not to let your membership lapse during the process.
In the Academic Review IETO will evaluate your education in relation to a 2-year (typically technician) or 3-year (typically technologist), Ontario post-secondary engineering technology or applied science program. If required, missing academics will be assigned.
In the Experience Review IETO will evaluate your work experience in the field or discipline of engineering technology or applied science in which you are seeking registration. You must have at least two years of experience. View the
Profiles of a Technician or Technologist for further information regarding certification-level experience.
You must be able to demonstrate a facility with the working language, standards, codes and practices of your engineering technology or applied science discipline before certification is granted. This is normally achieved by working in Canada for at least one of the two years of required experience.
If you meet minimum education standards, then once your application is processed, IETO will register you as an Associate member. Associate membership is a temporary category you occupy while working towards certification. Once you submit all your documents and your file review is complete, you will be emailed a personalized report of the steps needed to certify. You may need to complete additional academics and/or work experience, but in most cases, only the standard certification requirements are needed. Most Associate members can attain certification within one year if applying with the required academics and experience already.
Nevertheless, you must certify within three years of your file review, or if further academics are necessary, you have six years to certify. For more information on certification timelines, click
here.
To become certified as either a technician or a technologist, associate members must write and pass the
Professional Practice Examination (PPE). Writing the PPE enables you to meet the high professional standards set by your association in the area of ethics and responsibility to the public and your employer. You may write the PPE any time after you join as an Associate member.
To become certified as a C.E.T. you will need to write a
Technology Report (TR). The TR assesses your ability to describe and examine in detail an engineering technology or applied science problem. You must submit a proposal for approval before submitting the completed TR. The report topic should be discipline appropriate, and if possible, related to your work experience. You may complete this requirement any time after you become an Associate member unless you have further technologist-level academics to complete. If so, the academics should be completed first.
Associates who have graduated from a
nationally accredited engineering technology or applied science program do not need to complete a TR; they have already completed one meeting OACETT's specifications as part of their college program. The report issued to you after your file review will indicate whether the TR is required or whether it has been waived based on this reason.
Members who have been assigned one or more academic/subject competencies in order to achieve certification can apply to OACETT to write technical exams technical exam technical exams technical exam technical exams technical exam technical examsinstead of taking courses through various community colleges, institutions or through online learning.
To apply for a technical exam(s), email OACETT at certify@oacett.org.
Technical exams are non-refundable. To see the lastest pricing, click
here.
A guide will be prepared listing the texts that you are required to study. Once you are ready to write the exam, contact OACETT and a date, time and location will be set up. To accommodate our members, you can write either at the OACETT office or with an invigilator, at any time throughout the year.
If you choose to write with an invigilator, the invigilator must be a professional such as a C.E.T., Professional Engineer, or Chartered Accountant. You will be required to supply the contact information for the invigilator so that the exam and instructions can be forwarded to them.
For information on technical exams, contact OACETT at (416) 621-9621 or at certify@oacett.org.
In keeping with Fair Registration practices, OACETT has defined certain acceptable alternatives for members. For example, when members are unable to provide original transcripts, we will accept a notarized copy when the notarization is completed by a Lawyer, Notary Public or Commissioner of Oaths. See our complete
Table of Acceptable Certification Requirement Alternatives.
If you do not have the full academics for the certification level you are seeking, the admissions committee will assign the missing academic competency(ies) for you to complete. Typically, members take either college courses or OACETT technical exams to achieve this. Another option is available if you have significant technology or applied science experience of more than 10 years and have acquired the necessary learning in a way other than through formal post-secondary courses: Prior Learning Assessment Recognition (PLAR).
PLAR is a process which identifies, assesses and recognizes what a person knows and can do and is based on the premise that significant learning takes place outside of formal academic settings such as work, seminars, volunteer work, community service or self-study. It is not an experience review and credit is only given for learning that can be demonstrated and verified.
PLAR can help you get credit for prior learning so it does not need to be relearned in a formal classroom. It is focused on what you know and you must prepare evidence that the learning has taken place.
After being identified by our admissions committee as a PLAR candidate, you would have the option of preparing and submitting a PLAR Portfolio instead of the more traditional route of taking college courses or technical exams.
A portfolio is a collection of materials prepared to document and validate a request for recognition of previously acquired learning allowing you to identify and prove your knowledge and skills relative to the missing, required academic competency(ies). PLAR cannot be used to replace mandatory courses such as road construction designation and refresher courses, or the certification requirements for the Professional Practice Exam or Technology Report.
The current fee for a portfolio submission and assessment is $406.85. You must submit the portfolio within one year from time of application. Portfolio assessments take approximately 8 weeks.
For further information on PLAR, contact OACETT at (416) 621-9621 or at info@oacett.org.
When you have met all the certification requirements identified in your File Review Report, including the PPE and the Technology Report (if required) you will receive a letter from the Registrar informing you of your new status as a certified OACETT member. At this time, you may begin to use your new OACETT title. We will send your certificate, new membership card and publish your name in The Ontario Technologist magazine.
You will be eligible for all benefits reserved for certified members, which besides the right to use one of the protected titles and designations, C.E.T. or C.Tech., allows you to purchase a technology ring and certified member identification stamp.
Documents sent to OACETT in support of an application become the property of OACETT. Members or their appointed designate may access their own records, upon completion of the
Access to Records Form and payment of the
current fee which includes up to six photocopies/scans (pages) of documents that they have provided to OACETT. All records except information from references and the names of the Admissions Committee file reviewers are available to view. Records are made available either in person by pre-arranged appointment, mail or email.