From internationally trained electrical engineer to P.Eng in Manitoba

A guide for BCN members, based on an interview with a Nigerian-trained electrical engineer. He landed in Winnipeg in August 2022 and is now a licensed Professional Engineer (P.Eng) working in power generation.

The short version

1. Start before you land. He began seven months before arriving: a Canadian phone number, an updated resume and applications sent from Nigeria.
2. Your experience from home counts. About 10 years in instrumentation and controls at a power plant helped him get hired and became the material for his technical report.
3. Licensing runs alongside your job. He became an EIT in 2022 and a P.Eng in 2024.
4. Show you know Canadian standards. Employers value candidates who already understand the standards and regulations in their field.

The journey

On his brother’s advice (his brother had moved to Canada earlier, in a different field), he started preparing seven months before arrival. He got a Canadian phone number, updated his resume and applied from Nigeria. It paid off: he had interviews within a week of landing and a job offer within three weeks.

His first Canadian role was a technical services specialist at a bus manufacturer: engineering work on designs, PLCs and the charging systems for its electric fleet. After two years he moved to a power generation company in October 2024, where he works today.

Licensing in Manitoba

Engineering is a regulated profession in Canada, and in Manitoba the regulator is Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba (formerly APEGM). Here is how it went for him:

• Timeline: EIT (Engineer-in-Training) in 2022, P.Eng in 2024, about two years and two months in all.
• Education: he holds a B.Eng in electrical and electronics engineering and an MSc in telecommunications. He didn’t need a WES assessment. Instead, for his EIT application, he mapped his entire Nigerian coursework against the Canadian engineering curriculum to show he needed no further courses.
• Exams and reports: the NPPE (the national professional practice exam on law and ethics) and a technical report were both required before licensure.
• Experience: as he describes it, licensing needed five years of relevant work experience, at least one of them in Canada, confirmed by P.Eng colleagues or supervisors. Requirements change, so check the current rules with Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba.
• You apply on your own. Each person applies for licensure individually; there is no group or company route.

Getting the first job

His year of Canadian experience helped with licensing, but his roughly 10 years at home as an instrumentation and controls engineer at a power plant mattered most. It also gave him strong material for his technical report. He doesn’t credit any single training program for the job offer. It was the combination of his education and his work experience.

Advice for newcomers

• Target the open industries. From where he sits, oil and gas, power generation and distribution, and food and agricultural processing are the most open to newcomers.
• Lead with your electrical experience. Strong experience from home makes entry into these sectors much easier.
• Show you know Canadian standards. Employers value candidates who are already familiar with the standards and regulations in their field, so demonstrate it in your resume and interviews.
• Canadian experience isn’t always required. Power generation, his sector, is very open to newcomers with relevant experience.
• Prepare before landing. Get a Canadian number, tailor your resume and start applying months in advance if you can. Our guide to converting your resume to Canadian format can help.

Want to see which Canadian roles match your experience? Try the free BCN career app.