If you are internationally trained or a graduate from a program in Canada that is not accredited by the Canadian Forestry Accreditation Board (CFAB), when you apply for Provisional Membership OPFA staff will discuss with you  whether you wish to work towards Full or Associate Membership.

Associate Membership may be a suitable option for you if any or all of the following apply:

• you are working in a specific area of professional forestry
• you wish to continue working in Ontario only
• you do not meet the education requirements to undergo the Credential Assessment Process (CAP) for Full Membership
• you have competency gaps that you need to fill before being eligible to apply for Full Membership.

Associate Members have a defined scope of practice; which is a description of the specific professional forestry services that they are able to provide and the limitations on the scope (for example they may be working only on private land, and/or in a specific geographical region and forest type).

Applicants for Associate Membership undergo an academic competency assessment which evaluates their courses against the Certification Standards for the profession of forestry in Canada. The applicant is then given a prescribed scope of practice which includes those competencies that were demonstrated by the applicants academic qualifications. This prescribed scope of practice is the scope of practice for which the individual is eligible to apply for Associate Membership under, once they have met the 18-month mentored work experience requirement, the Ontario Forest Policy & Legislative Framework Bridge Training requirement, and the Professionalism and Ethics Standard. There is the opportunity to expand this scope of practice, or work towards Full Membership (if eligible- 4yr BSc or equivalent) as a next step or in the future.

Please refer to this step-by-step summary for a description of the entire Associate Membership  registration process, from applying for Provisional Membership (R.P.F. in Training) to becoming an Associate Member (Associate R.P.F.).

 

Forms & Instructional Documents

To apply:

Please contact the OPFA Assistant Registration Manager at office@opfa.ca  with a copy of your CV/resume to determine eligibility before applying. If you decide to proceed you will need to submit:

• Provisional Membership Application Form
• A line numbered CV/resume (work experience in YYYY/MM/DD format) if not already provided.
• Complete the online Professionalism and Ethics Evaluation* (contact office@opfa.ca for access)
• Pay the Application Fee – can be paid using the following methods:
  • e-transfer to opfa@opfa.ca (please provide your name and type of fee in the message section)
  • call the office to pay by Visa or Mastercard
  • mail a cheque or money order payable to Ontario Professional Foresters Association to the OPFA office
  • Pay the fee online in the Special Payments section.

*The results of the Professionalism and Ethics Evaluation do not affect your application; they are simply used to determine whether you currently meet the Professionalism and Ethics Standard or will be required to complete the Bridge Training module as one of the requirements for Associate or Full Membership. Please contact OPFA staff for access to the online evaluation.

When received, this application material will be considered by the Registration Committee at their next regularly scheduled meeting. You can find a list of upcoming Registration Committee meeting dates and the deadline to submit materials for them here. You will receive formal written notification within 2 weeks of the meeting date.

After approval as a Provisional Member (R.P.F. in Training):

An Orientation Session will be provided shortly after approval as a Provisional Member, to provide instructions on the next steps.

• Mentoring Agreement – please also review the Mentorship Instructions
• Provisional Member Guide to Developing a Personal Practice Focus and a Learning Plan
• Provisional Membership Work History Form
• Criteria For Relevant Experience
• Request for Prior Experience Form (eligible experience only – please refer to the Criteria for Relevant Experience or contact the Assistant Registration Manager at office@opfa.ca to determine eligibility to submit this form)

You will need to have official transcripts submitted directly to the OPFA from the academic institution(s). For international qualifications, a course-by-course credential evaluation must be completed and submitted directly to the OPFA. We recommend World Education Services (WES) or the University of Toronto CES (others may be accepted please contact to confirm)- these service providers can also include copies of official transcripts in their evaluations which will be accepted by the OPFA.

Provisional Members are also required to update their Progress Report Table every February and August to show how they are working towards meeting the registration requirements. This is an individual online report; the link will be provided to you.

Preparing for the Academic Assessment:

The Assistant Registration Manager will provide you with the materials and instructions to prepare for the academic assessment after the Orientation Session. You will need to prepare these materials and submit them to the Registration Manager at office@opfa.ca.

You will need to:

1. Identify which of your courses are relevant to each of the competency elements in the Certification Standards (where appliable).
2. Provide detailed course outlines for all relevant courses
3. Have official transcripts submitted to opfa@opfa.ca or the office mailing address directly from the institution(s)

Method of assessment:

Eligible candidates (those with a minimum of a 4yr BSc or equivalent) will undergo the CAP Phase 1 academic assessment.

Candidates who are not eligible to undergo the CAP will undergo academic assessment through the Registration Committee- these candidates are eligible for Associate Membership but are not able to progress to Full Membership until they have met the equivalence eligibility and the competency and policy requirements.

When the academic assessment has been completed you will be provided with the results and your prescribed scope of practice for Associate Membership. Please note that as a Provisional Member you will not be licensed to practice under your prescribed scope of practice yet; you must meet the other standard requirements and apply for Associate Membership to do so.

Opportunities to discuss expanding your Associate Member scope of practice and/or working towards Full Membership will be discussed with you. Possibilities include taking additional training to fill competency gaps and/or undergoing an assessment of your experience.

Please contact the Assistant Registration Manager at office@opfa.ca to determine which method of assessment applies to you, and receive the instructions on how to get started.

Meeting the Professionalism and Ethics Standard

All applicants must meet the Professionalism and Ethics Standard. This can be done in the following ways:

1. Complete the online Professionalism and Ethics Evaluation to determine whether you are required to completed the Bridge Training module. If you prefer to complete the Bridge Training module without undergoing the online evaluation you may do so.
2. Complete the Professionalism and Ethics Bridge Training module (recommended) – this is a single online module which is self-paced and can be started at any time (even before approval as a Provisional Member). Successful completion of this module meets the Standard.

Ontario Forest Policy & Legislative Framework Bridge Training

All applicants for Associate Membership will be asked to complete modules 1-4 of the Ontario Forest Policy & Legislative Framework Bridge Training. These are online self-paced modules that can be begun at any point during the registration process. You can register for them here (the last 4 modules listed). While we recommend that all applicants do complete all 4 modules, applicants for Associate Membership may request an exemption from modules they do not feel are relevant to their scope of practice; this request will be considered by the Registration Committee at one of their scheduled meetings. Please review the Ontario Forest Policy & Legislative Framework Requirement Policy and contact the Registration Manager at registration.manager@opfa.ca if you wish to make such a request.

After the academic competency assessment & when the experience requirement has been met:

The following documents will be required to be submitted after the academic assessment and when the 18 months of relevant mentored experience requirement has been met. Please note that 6 months of this experience must be attained after 80% of the competencies required for the scope of practice have been demonstrated; which includes those competencies in the Professionalism and Ethics Standard. The Criteria for Relevant Experience describes eligible experience, as well as how to make a request to get credit for eligible experience that you already have. The Registration Manager is available to provide guidance.

• Character Witness Form (2 required- please review the eligibility requirements at the top of the form)
• Sponsorship Form (2 required- please review the Sponsorship Instructions)
• Your sponsors will also be required to review a completed copy of your Work History Form
• Associate Membership Application Form
• You will also need to report (by email is acceptable) that your Personal Practice Focus and Learning Plan are complete and up to date.

When received, this application material will be considered by the Registration Committee at their next regularly scheduled meeting. You can find a list of upcoming Registration Committee meeting dates and the deadline to submit materials for them here. You will receive formal written notification within 2 weeks of the meeting date.

 

Have questions? Please contact the Assistant Registration Manager at office@opfa.ca for assistance.