Regulation of the Profession in Ontario

and Canada[GROUP]

[NAME]

[DATE]

So you Want to Become an Architect?

A Presentation by: [NAME]

Pathway to Licensure

• Architects are licensed professionals• Four parts to becoming eligible to be licensed

– Education– Experience– Examination– Admissions Course

Education

• 11 accredited schools of architecture in Canada

– How do they become accredited?

– Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB)

– Canadian Education Standard

– Conditions and Procedures for Accreditation

– Set by the Regulators

– Automatic certification by CACB of accredited schools

• Foreign degrees may also be certified by the CACB

Experience

• Intern Architect Program – national, set by 11 regulators across Canada

• 3720 hours of practical experience under personal supervision of an architect licensed in Ontario – recorded in the experience record book (CERB)

• Experience must be gathered in specific areas of practice – breadth of experience is important

• Mentor required – important resource to interns

Examination

• Examination for Architects in Canada (ExAC)

• Recognized nationally as the examination for the profession in Canada

• May be written after 2880 hours of experience gained

• Practical exam which does not test material already tested in school – breadth of experience important

• 4 sections

Admission Course

• 3 full days of lectures

• Focus on practices and legal issues in Ontario

• Presently held in conjunction with OAA annual conference

Now You are Eligible to Apply for License as an Architect…

• Applying for your license

• Offering Services to the Public - Certificate of Practice

• Professional Liability Insurance - Pro-Demnity Insurance Company

• Continuing Education - commitment to maintaining competence

Welcome to the Profession!

• Professional responsibility

• Member of the OAA

• Scope of Practice in Ontario – everything is the practice of architecture – however exceptions are set out in the Act

• Architect’s seal – What it means...

– When you use it…

So What is the OAA?

• OAA regulates the practice of architecture in Ontario (individual architects and practices)

• The privilege of self-regulation • Protecting the public interest is primary mandate –

more than life safety• To use the title architect in Ontario you must be

licensed by the OAA• 3,316 architects and 1,583+ practices• AND… the OAA does much more than regulate…

Ontario Association of Architects

• Supports the profession through services

• Practice advisory services

• Continuing education

• Website tools and resources

• Standard documents

• Collaboration with industry

Ontario Association of Architects

• Promotes the profession through

• Honours and awards

• Media relations

• Public Documents and promotion

How Does All This Get Done?

• OAA Council is the governing body

• Established under the Act

• Responsible for setting policy direction related to the profession

• 15 elected members and 5 public appointees

• Committees and Task Groups

• 22 staff responsible for day to day operations and implementation of policy direction

What Self–Regulating Means

• All of these things are controlled by the profession

• How things get changed – Council, Committees – everyone has the opportunity to become involved and shape the profession

• 14 Local Architectural Societies