Practical. Productive. Professional. Those three words sum up the membership of the Alberta Society of Engineering Technologists, an organization that has become a much-sought-after seal of approval for thousands of technology professionals in Alberta and the Territories.

The Alberta Society of Engineering Technologists – ASET – was founded 40 years ago, in 1963, with an initial membership of 12. Today, ASET has 15,000 members, making it Canada’s largest professional association for certified applied science and engineering technologists. That impressive number is an indicator of the value of ASET membership.

“The magic of it,” says Tim Schultz, M.S.A., B.Comm., executive director of ASET, “is that we’re a voluntary Society, so that members are, by and large, not required to be members. So they obviously see some value in it.”

Value enough, in fact, to have a 97-per-cent renewal rate for memberships, which Schultz calls “astonishing”.

Allan Yeung, left, and Tim Schultz, of ASET, which is celebrating 40 years representing professionals.

Allan Yeung, R.E.T., volunteer first vice president of ASET, says membership speaks to the professionalism of the technicians and technologists who are certified by ASET.

“It is important to be recognized in the technical community,” says Yeung, a NAIT graduate who is the senior research technologist with Syncrude Canada Ltd. at the Edmonton Research Centre.

“It gives you a level of comfort to work with someone who is an ASET member.”

As a volunteer with the organization, being an ASET member allows him to contribute to the well-being of his profession.

“I believe in the philosophy that every person should give something back to their profession,” says Yeung.

The majority of ASET members are graduates of two and three-year technology programs from accredited programs at NAIT, SAIT, the DeVry Institute in Calgary, and community colleges throughout the province and around the country.

Schultz says while there are many professional organizations in Alberta, ASET is unique as a Society in that it provides two essential services for technology professionals in Alberta – certification for individual members, and accreditation of post-secondary institutions.

ASET conducts the accreditation procedure required by the Canadian Technology Accreditation Board to earn accredited status. During this intensive process, an ASET team studies the entire program of a post-secondary institution, including reviews of course material, visits to classes and labs, and interviews with students.

As another indicator of the value of accreditation, it is only done at the request of the school, which foots the bill for the process.

Accreditation gives the student a level of confidence that the school can deliver on its promises, says Schultz. In order to quality for individual certification from ASET, a candidate needs to have graduated from an accredited program (or the proven equivalent), must have two years of work experience with references, and pass a professional practice examination.

The number one benefit of receiving ASET certification is the credibility that goes along with it, says Schultz. Some employers require certification, and many more strongly encourage it. Most employers go so far as to pay the $140 yearly fee, he says.

ASET certification carries so much weight that it might make the difference in getting a job, says Schultz. If an employer is looking at two equally qualified candidates, one with ASET certification and one without, the certification may be the deciding factor.

“It shows they’ve gone through a process that has rigor,” says Schultz, “and clearly shows they’ve met the academic and experience requirements.”

Interestingly, membership is higher and growth rate stronger when the economy is down, says Schultz, indicating the value of the highly respected C.E.T., R.E.T., A.Sc.T. and C.Tech. designations.

While there are 15,000 members of ASET, there are an estimated 45,000 to 50,000 potential members in Alberta, so there is great room for growth. (Alberta has the highest per capita number of engineering and technical workers in Canada.)

Unlike other professional organizations, membership is not mandatory, so it is incumbent upon potential members to come to ASET, rather than ASET coming to them. To get the message across, ASET makes presentations to major employers about the value of membership.

As well, students are given free student membership in the last half of their program. Schultz says 70 per cent of students who get a free membership obtain full memberships.

Professional development is a part of what ASET has to offer, which allows a member to maintain a level of professionalism. ASET is now developing a compendium of professional development on its web site, effectively an information clearing house on what programs are available, where and at what cost. ASET is also starting to look at program delivery online.

While technologists are most often seen as employees of large corporations, more and more are becoming entrepreneurs, contracting their services to industry. Again, ASET membership provides proof that the entrepreneur is a dedicated professional.

For further information on the Alberta Society of Engineering Technologists, visit its web site at www.aset.ab.ca