By Black Sheep
Wow. This is interesting. Engineers who cannot get into engineering work while the province warns it needs more engineers.
Who knew?
Credit to Claudia Hepburn and Gonzalo Rosa for raising the issue in their September 11, 2026, Calgary Herald opinion column, “We’re fast-tracking projects, but slow-walking engineers.” Their argument deserves attention: accelerating investment means little if qualified people face avoidable delays before they can contribute.
That raises a question I would like answered:
When we hear “engineer shortage,” how much is a shortage of people—and how much is a shortage of functioning pathways into the profession?
What Does a Shortage Actually Mean?
A workforce shortage can mean several things. There may be too few people with the required skills. There may be a mismatch between experience and available jobs. Employers may struggle to recruit in particular locations.
But there is another possibility worth examining: people with relevant education and experience are already here, yet the assessment process keeps them waiting.
Those are different problems. They require different answers.
Before governments use a headline shortage to justify another recruitment campaign, I want to know what happens to the engineers who have already arrived.
How many are awaiting an assessment? What remains unresolved in their applications? How long have they waited? And which delays are necessary to establish competence?
Show Us Where the Time Goes
Alberta professional associations have a legitimate responsibility to protect the public. An engineering qualification must mean something.
But that responsibility also requires a process people can understand.
An applicant should be able to see what evidence is required, why it is required, who is assessing it and when a decision can reasonably be expected.
If further testing is necessary, explain the specific competency being assessed. If overseas experience cannot be accepted, explain the gap and how the applicant can address it.
A person should not have to guess their way through a process that determines whether they can earn a living in their profession.
The useful measure of reform is what applicants experience after it takes effect. Announcing a better system is the beginning. Demonstrating that it works is the part that matters.
The People Behind the Applications
Imagine bringing years of engineering experience to Canada, then spending months waiting for the next administrative step.
Your rent does not wait. Your family’s expenses do not wait. Your professional confidence does not remain untouched indefinitely.
That is why this discussion needs to extend beyond employers’ recruitment difficulties. It concerns the people whose working lives are being put on hold.
Hepburn and Rosa bring a relevant perspective through their involvement with Windmill Microlending, which supports immigrants facing financial barriers to rebuilding their careers. That connection helps explain their focus on financing and mentorship.
Both can help. But applicants also deserve a timely, clearly explained assessment.
Put the Performance on the Record
Here is what I would like governments and Alberta professional associations to publish:
- Typical processing times, alongside the longest waits.
- The number of applications outstanding at each assessment stage.
- Clear explanations of the most common reasons for delay.
- How applicants can challenge an error or resolve a stalled application.
- Results showing whether recent reforms have shortened the process while maintaining competency requirements.
That would give the public something concrete to examine. It would also help distinguish a difficult but necessary assessment from an administrative problem that should have been fixed.
Who Knew? Now Show Us the Answer.
I welcome this column because it asks readers to look beyond the familiar shortage headline.
My takeaway is straightforward: count the people waiting before concluding that the people are missing.
If Alberta needs engineering talent, the assessment pathway deserves the same scrutiny as the projects that depend on it.
Qualified applicants deserve a fair decision. The public deserves confidence in that decision. And everyone deserves to know why it takes as long as it does.
— Black Sheep
Source: Claudia Hepburn and Gonzalo Rosa, “Opinion: We’re fast-tracking projects, but slow-walking engineers,” Calgary Herald, September 11, 2026. Commentary based on the article supplied.
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