APETT PEN PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS’ NEWSLETTER Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago

In This Issue •

Outgoing

All that is left is to say thanks to our PEN readership, as my term as APETT President draws to an end. The re-launch of PEN has been a key highlight, and special thanks to Eng. Dr. Chris Maharaj who has religiously tended to its regular publication to keep Engineers informed and engaged. The increase in APETT activities and specific strategies may have contributed to the resurgence in the

President’s

Financial Membership base by 65% over the previous year. The participation of current and future

New and

APETT members has been particularly pleasing. The positive response from Corporate T&T to our Conference, Awards Function and Seminars is an indication that the Association remains a wellrecognised institution. This is also reflected in the many requests for APETT to contribute to the development of national policies (e.g. National Heritage, Seismic Microzonation), national standards

Upgraded

(e.g. Qualifications Framework, Building Codes) and initiatives by several State agencies (e.g.

APETT

BOETT, ACTT, ODPM, TTBS, UTT). Our strategy to engage foreign professional bodies have been

members in 2014 •

Outgoing APETT President’s Address

APETT Address •

March 2015

Migrating to Canada

very well received by ICE, IStructE, IChemE, IEEE, IET and IMechE. These and others are detailed in our AGM Report which shall be distributed via email and placed on our website. My four years on Council has been a truly rewarding experience for me. It has taught me what could not be learnt in a classroom or in the workplace. The team of genuine professionals on Executive and Division Councils and APETT representatives on various Committees who have given of their personal and professional time to the work of the Association have in my view contributed to

- A T&T

the betterment of the Engineering Profession, the fruits of which are visible today and possibly in the

Engineer’s

long term. The contribution of Engineering and APETT to our country remains an enigma in certain

experience

quarters, but this has not perturbed the cadre of Engineers who have served. We also remain cognisant of how much more needs to be done in the prevailing dynamic environment. On behalf of the APETT Executive Council 2014/2015, I would like to wish the Engineering fraternity Very Best Wishes in the next term of APETT led by President Eng. Neil Dookie. Eng. Dr. Haydn I. Furlonge

Contact Us Email or give us a call for more information or if you are interested in being involved. APETT, The Professional Centre, 11-13 Fitz Blackman Drive, Port-of-Spain Email: [email protected]; Phone: (868) 627-6697; Web: www.apett.org; Like us on Facebook. PEN Editor: Eng. Dr. Chris Maharaj (R.Eng., MAPETT, C.Eng.)

APETT Council Vision: To Lead the Advancement of the Engineering Profession in Trinidad and Tobago through Effective Collaboration with All Stakeholders

New and Upgraded APETT members in 2014 Surname Chow Gaffney Gorib Gosine Hassan Nunez Oliver Persad Sankar Alexander Benjamin Boodoo Chandoo Cummings Dass Debysingh Dickinson Doon Hosein Jaggernath Jaglalsingh Khan King Lamey Lutchman Lynch Lyons Mohammed Ousman Parson PrenƟce Rambaran Ramcharan Page 2

First Name Conrad Peter Omar Anil HaƟm Lennox Ken Prakash Franklin David Ezan Winston Reshard Don Kern Arvind Derek Oneil Sharaz Francis Ravindra Samantha Reynaldo Phillip Hermosura Jameel David Jarrod Theron Dale Damian Shiva Kurt

Discipline Electrical Chemical Chemical Civil Civil Electrical Civil Mechanical Electrical Petroleum Structural Electrical Chemical Civil Electrical Electrical Civil Mechanical Civil Civil Mechanical Civil Electrical Mechanical Civil Mechanical Mechanical Electrical Chemical Chemical Mechanical Mechanical Civil

Grade Fellow Fellow Fellow Fellow Fellow Fellow Fellow Fellow Fellow Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member

Surname Ramnarine Rampair Ramsaran Ramsingh Reid Roopnarine Saunders Seepersad SeeraƩan Sookram Soorajbally Stephen TuiƩ Webber Young Arneaud Bain Bassaw Boodoo Charles Griffith Jordan Loorkhoor Lopez MarƟn Mohammed Paramsook Ramsubhag RaƩan Sammy Thomas Thomas Warner Williams Basdeo Jainath Page 3

First Name Mikhail Johan Marise Rawle Jamel Amanda Fitzroy Trichelle Ravi Prakash Nandi Jevan Gregory Dion Adele Dale Sterling Satchidanand Wayne Arianne Darren Adrian Sasha Emilio Barry Saleem Shastel Kaseima Marlon George S. Anthony Rheal Anna Kris Vindira Ayesha

Discipline Civil Civil Electrical Electrical Electrical Chemical Electrical Mechanical Electrical Civil Civil Civil Civil Civil Civil Civil Civil Civil Mechanical Civil Civil Civil Civil Civil Civil Civil Chemical Civil Civil Aerospace Mechanical Civil Chemical Civil Environmental Electrical

Grade Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate Affiliate Affiliate

Migrating to Canada – a Trinidad engineer's experience The above titled subject was a presentation that was delivered at the APETT office on 2nd February 2015 by Mr Richard Chang Kit. When you go on a vacation to a country, you are at the dating stage of your relationship. Both sides see all the best parts of everything. When you decide to migrate, then it’s a full marriage with very costly implications if divorce is contemplated! Going to live in another country should never be a decision made on a "keeping up with everybody" basis. So the entire family (yes, including the children) must be very clear on WHY they are migrating.

Mr. Richard Chang Kit

Canada is a socialist state that tries to emulate the Nordic states of Sweden, Norway Switzerland etc. That means big government, high and continuously rising taxes, organized labour (unions) controls many government policies and daily operations. There is a very large public service. The legacy of a monarchy / socialist environment is that the "subjects" are there to serve the state. Republicans tend to think the other way around. First the good Infrastructure is generally well maintained and a water leak or pot hole is a phone call away from being repaired. An emergency call typically has a response unit present in less than 12 minutes. Buying groceries and cooking at home is cheap (CAD $90 per week can buy groceries for a family of 4 including all the food groups). All crime is a fraction of developing countries and falling. Many parks and open spaces. Plenty of touristic activities. Public transport runs well. Tradespeople and technically trained people (including engineers) are the most employable. Now the not so good Because Canada takes in about 350,000 immigrants every year, competition for jobs is fierce. The period of vigorous job seeking is typically one year. At a cash burn of CAD $3000 - $4000 per month for rent, utilities, frugal basic living (family of 2 adults 2 kids), one must be prepared financially. A typical detached 3 bedroom house around 2500 sq.ft costs $750,000 in the middle income suburbs and $1.2 million near the urban areas. Townhouses 1100 – 1500 sq.ft are about 1.5 times this price per sq.ft. High taxes mean that most of what you earn goes to pay for all of the good mentioned above. Disposable income after expenses is almost zero for most middle income salaried families. Typical salaries in the public service can be seen from any City's website under job postings. All professionals typically fall into the regulated professions (doctors, lawyers, engineers, electricians etc.). That means getting licensed – and all of these bodies make immigrants jump through hoops of fire to get licensed. That makes it very difficult to be employed in your field. But that is now changing although very slowly. This discussion went on for 2 hours at the APETT office and covered many other aspects of life and challenges in Ontario, Canada. If you have further interest in this topic please contact APETT or you can visit Richard’s website at www.livebetterlearnmore.com. Page 4