BEM OUTCOME-BASED PROFESSIONAL ASSESSMENT EXAMINATION (PAE)

BEM OUTCOME-BASED PROFESSIONAL ASSESSMENT EXAMINATION (PAE)

(Will be implemented starting 1st May 2022. Fully implemented 1st January 2023)

Starting this year, BEM is implementing an outcome-based competence assessment for PAE, to be in line with the global move in the international engineering community, for international recognition and cross-border mobility.

The Registration of Engineers (Amendment) Act 2015 and The Regulations of Engineers (Amendment) Regulations 2015 have come into operation on 31 July 2015. The spirit of the Act is to support the government policy to liberalise the services sector in particular the engineering services.

5 categories of Registered Persons under BEM now as follows (refer the ones in Italic for new categories): -

1. Accredited Checker

2. Professional Engineer with Practicing Certificate

3. Professional Engineer

4. Graduate Engineer

5. Engineering Technologist

6. Inspector of Works

Differences between current PAE and Outcome-Based PAE: -

Current PAE	Outcome-Based PAE
Developed from a perspective of consulting engineers.	Bench-marked to current international best practices.
Practicing engineers not in consulting line hardly meet requirement for Design and Site experiences.	All engineering professions to provide open definition of design and development of solution to engineering problem based on Competence Elements.
It emphasizes length of time in management and other work experiences.	It emphasizes competence covering five (5) Competence Areas A, B, C, D, E.
It does not specify the need of evidence on competence.	Applicants required to provide evidence on competence elements as a basis for assessment.
It requires the examiners to judge subjectively by questioning whether the working experience is satisfactorily based on whatever information provided in application form and applicant’s report.	It has assessment rubrics and threshold statement guides to help examiners to match the evidence provided by applicants to the most appropriate competence level.

The following minimum requirements for design and site experience are no longer required: -

Engineering Branch and Related Sub Branches	Design Experience (Month	Site Experience (Month)
Civil Engineering	12	12
Mechanical Engineering	6	12
Electrical Engineering	12	6
Electronic Engineering	6	12
Chemical Engineering	6	6
Other Branches of Engineering	6	6

Differences between current PAE and Outcome-Based PAE (for Document preparation, Examination, and Essay Writing): -

Current PAE

Outcome-Based PAE

1. Preparation of documents: -

a) Application form (includes career history / experience write-up)

b) Project / Design Report

c) Relevant forms

1. Preparation of documents: -

a) Application form (includes career history / experience write-up)

b) ~~Project / Design Report~~

Training & Experience Report (Self- Assessment of Competence)

c) Relevant forms

2. Examination by two examiners

a) Interview (30 minutes – 1 hour)

i. Questions relating to the two submitted documents

ii. What, why, engineering concepts, decision made, etc.

b) Essay writing ( 2 questions, 1.5 hours each)

i. Training & Experience essay

ii. Code & Ethics Essay

2. Examination by two examiners

a) Interview (15 minutes of powerpoint presentation of selected technical work / project)

i. Questions relating to the presentation

ii. What, why, engineering concepts, decision made, etc.

b) Essay writing

i. ~~Training & Experience essay~~

ii. Code & Ethics Essay (to be in new format based on personal experience)

COMPETENCE CATEGORIES

Professional competence is grouped under five categories for assessment: -

A. Use of a combination of general and specialist engineering knowledge and understanding for optimizing or maximizing the application of existing and emerging technologies.

B. Application of appropriate theoretical and practical methods to the analysis and solution of engineering problems.

C. Demonstration of technical and commercial leadership through planning and managing works, resources and quality.

D. Demonstration of effective communication and interpersonal skills.

E. Demonstration of a personal commitment to professional standards, recognizing obligations to society, the profession and the environment.

Each of the five competence categories consists of several competence elements to be assessed directly.

Competence categories A, B, C and D will be assessed during oral interview. However, Competence category E will be assessed through a written examination.

GUIDANCE FOR REPORT WRITE-UP: -

· Focus on your individual achievement, not what the team did

· Use phrases such as “I particapted”, “I designed”, “I achieved”, “I involved”, etc. instead of saying “we participated / we designed” etc.

· Use terms that can be understood by a non-specialist in your field.

For more detail information on the requirement and application, refer below link of BEM website:

1. For requirement and procedure

http://bem.org.my/documents/20181/183211/NEW+REQUIREMENTS+%26+PROCEDURE+FOR+PAE+APPLICATION.pdf/

2. For online registration

https://engineer.org.my/Application/My

3. Registration of Engineers Regulations 1990 (Revised 2015) [REG 2015]

http://bem.org.my/documents/20181/43360/REG2015.pdf/7800531b-9183-47ac-913b-a69a0f9c1ecd

4. REA2015 & REG2015 Book (Second Edition) with Explanatory Notes