Over the years, I’ve seen a decline in professional engineering, and no more so than in the domain of software engineering.
Engineering in Canada began with bold vision and practical ingenuity. From the Canadian Pacific Railway to the St. Lawrence Seaway, professional engineers were once celebrated innovators who shaped our nation.
Yet somewhere along the way, professional engineering transformed from an enabler of progress to what many see as a barrier to innovation.
This was made evident in Ontario with the introduction of an industrial exception (1984) as part of the Professional Engineers Act. This change permitted unlicensed people to carry out engineering work within the context of their employer’s equipment and machinery.
The impact of this change was immediate. If anyone can perform engineering, then why do you need professional engineers? Since the exception was introduced, companies have reduced the number of professional engineers in their workforce, which happened in large numbers within the steel industry, where I was working at the time, as well as other sectors.
However, while this was a big straw, it was not the only one on the camel’s back.
Software engineering, as a profession, would also see itself diminish and almost disappear. For all intents and purposes, software engineering is no longer a licensed practice in Canada. Perhaps, on paper, it is, but having worked in this field for decades, I have observed many calling themselves software engineers, network engineers, and even now prompt engineers, all of who do not have a license to practice. When anyone can call themselves an engineer, we no longer have engineering, and we no longer have a profession.
Academia has also not helped to advance the profession. Universities and colleges have in recent decades doubled-down on preparing engineers to support scientific research rather than teaching them how to practice engineering. While we do need engineers to help with research, we need more of them in the field to practice. We need people who use the engineering method, not only the scientific method.
So where are we now?
We have reduced professional engineering to the things that engineering does, and in the process, forgotten what engineering is. We divided engineering into its parts that no longer need to be held accountable or work together. This was done for efficiency and as a means to increase innovation.
However, instead, we broke engineering - the means of innovation – and we need to put it back together again.
Engineering was never about the parts. It was never about creating designs, or stamping drawings, or a risk measure to ensure public safety. Again, this is what engineering does, but not what it is.
Engineering is a profession of competent and trustworthy people who build the future.
And this is something worth remembering if we hope to build a thriving and prosperous Canada.
