I have the following…

I have the following feedback for the qualification program.

1. Use of digital building code. ----Great!

2. More time for each question.---- Good idea but make sure the difficulty of the question is not increased for the purpose of matching the increased time.

3. Mandatory training---- I think it is a good idea for helping people understand the code and to pass the exams. But not sure people who pay by themselves especially new graduates will be able to afford the cost of trainings for all the exams.

4. Alternative way to enter the sector----Not sure about this, depends on what guidelines ministry will follow to assess applicants’ experiences in order to waive the exams. We need more information to give feedback on this one.

5. Restructure exam----Not sure about this. As the technical exams remains the same, the only one that can be eliminated is the legal exam which will be combined with part3 and part 9 building. Both part 3/9 and legal covers larger portions of the building code. and if the question amount is reduced to 60, the testing code material from either the part3/9 or the legal in one exam will be very limited. Also, the difficulty for applicant to prepare for these two exams will be increased.

6. For building official attest knowledge of code changes----what is the ministry in mind of the acceptable ways of the attest? I think the attest shall be limited the code changes happened in “that year” as we renew our license each year. To help building officials to track the code changes, the ministry shall publish a code amendment collection book or post on their website.

I would like to add one comments for the mandatory training for exams. The Ministry has proposed Alternative ways to enter the sector for someone with experience to enter the sector without taking exams, meanwhile, person who need to take exams need to take training course mandatorily, this seems make entering the sector easier for some people but harder for others.