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Geoinformatics_06-2009
interview cation requirements for surveyors and, more generally, all requirements of the law that established the order. the order of licensed surveyors makes decisions regarding the conditions under which people enter and practice the profession of licensed surveyor, for candidates from france and all european countries. it also pursues general publicity and information campaigns intended for surveyors, the institutions that hire them, and young surveyors-in-training. it maintains close relationships with ministries, parliamentarians and government departments to monitor current events and legislation pertaining to its members, as well as with other professional associations and related industries. many countries have expressed interest in the order, such as lebanon, morocco, japan, russia and burkina faso, which consult with the order to receive feedback before reforming or establishing their own professional organizations. q: how is the monitoring of the practice of the national surveying profession pursued in oge and what are the steps in the process of acquiring the surveyor s licence in france? what are the training certifications, ethical rules, and the requirements to guarantee the function of a licensed surveyor in french society? a: currently, there are three main ways to enter this profession: the "fast track" is to study at a topographic engineering school such as esgt, ecole superieure des geometres et topographes (le mans), insa, institut national des sciences appliques (strasbourg), or estp, ecole speciale des travaux publics (cachan), followed by a twoyear professional internship. the other, more time-consuming path is to begin with a technical degree (two years of university study or an advanced technician s certificate known as a "bts" in france) and then work your way up through the ranks with 6, 8 or 15 years of professional experience, followed by a twoor three-year internship, and then pass the government-administered dplg exam to become a licensed land surveyor. the third option allows a "generalist" engineer (which is an engineer who is not a topographer) to join the ranks of the profession after completing a three-year internship and passing the dplg final exam. the professional internship is the most important step in becoming a licensed surveyor, as it affords candidates the opportunity to acquire indispensable practical knowledge for their future professional practice and familiarizes them with the industry. as of 2004, latest news? visit www.geoinformatics.com interns must also take mandatory training modules organized by three regional councils, in paris, lyon and toulouse, while completing their internships. these training modules are the credit equivalent of 16 days, and beginning on 1st january 2010, will address the topics of professional ethics, demarcation, public property, easements, land division, co-ownership, expert assessments and alternative conflict resolution methods, sustainable land development, the land registry system and management/accounting. additionally, in accordance with the provisions of directive 2005/36/ce of the european parliament and the council of europe of 7th september 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications, which was transposed into french national law in the order of 30th may 2008, citizens of european countries that are members of the european community or citizens of states that are a party to the agreement on the european economic area, in order to practice the profession of licensed surveyor, must have been recognized as qualified by a commission responsible for issuing an explained decision regarding requests for recognition of qualifications submitted to the meeddat, the ministry to which the order of licensed surveyors reports. this commission meets to review applications and, when the candidate s professional qualifications are deemed to be lacking with respect to the qualifications required to enter the profession and practice in france, the commission may require the candidate to undertake additional measures, which will include either an aptitude test or a practical training internship of up to three years, at the candidate s choosing, before his or her qualifications will be recognized. the order is currently considering modernizing the dplg to allow candidates at the master s level, regardless of their professional profile or origin, whether surveyors, generalist engineers, or holders of a master s degree in law, humanities or geoinformatics, to enter and practice the profession provided that they complete a two-year professional internship while taking the mandatory training modules, depending on their educational background, and then write and defend a technical and legal professional thesis. this is being done in an effort to adapt french education and initial training systems to meet eu harmonization initiatives by standardizing the bachelor s, master s and doctoral degrees (bachelor s = 3 years of university education following a passing baccalaureate exam, master s = 5 years, ph.d. = 8 years), and granting access to the profession to university students who do not take the most common path of pursuing a scientific major. this initiative is designed to instill in surveyors a knowledge of multiple disciplines, diversify the field to meet growing demand and ensure a high standard of service for the consumer, and finally to prevent difficulties related to recruitment and the replacement of the industry s current practitioners in anticipation of the mass retirement of the baby boomers. in order to be authorized to perform land management and intervention services, licensed surveyors must complete land register work, prepare the survey documents, or perform agricultural and forest land planning, and request approval from the appropriate ministry or order. in order to be qualified as a court expert, a licensed surveyor must apply for registration with the rolls of experts maintained by the french ministry of justice. they may also be candidates for qualification by the professional qualification office for urban planners or by the professional qualification office for engineering and construction. they must also obtain certification to perform real estate inspections. section 17 of the law of 7th may 1946 instituting the order of licensed surveyors stipulates that the board of governors "shall oversee professional continuing education and disciplinary measures." moreover, section 47 of the decree of 31st may 1996 regulating the profession and establishing the code of professional responsibilities stipulates that "licensed surveyors must maintain their skills and pursue continuing professional education." in a directive issued in march 1998, which was included in the order s rules of procedure, the board of governors declared continuing education to be mandatory for all licensed surveyors. last june, the board of governors updated the order s directives pertaining to this continuing education requirement and decided to count training credits on an annual basis and to record training credits based on the half-day unit, with a minimum required five days of direct training plus three days of indirect training each year. q: what do you think about the renewal of generations in the geodetic/surveying service in france and what measures have to be taken to allow a smooth transition within the profession from the older to the younger generation? how do you cope with the transfer of professional experience in this regard? a: although it acknowledges the difficulties caused by today s economic and financial crisis, which is weakening our firms and making the recruitment and demographic problems facing our profession less perceptible, the order of licensed surveyors is nevertheseptember 2009 45
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