The Nevada Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors: Your Nevada Board
Since our founding in 1919, the Nevada Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (NVBPELS) has worked hard to fulfill its mission to the constituents we represent. That mission has evolved over the years, but the core of what we do has remained:
- To protect the public by licensing qualified engineers and land surveyors
- To ensure professional standards by facilitating compliance with laws, regulations, and code of conduct
- To provide understanding and progression in licensure by openly engaging with all stakeholders
What it really means is that we exist to serve the public. We cost the public nothing and provide an avenue to resolve grievances against engineer and land surveyor professionals. We also ensure our professionals comply with regulations in order to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of the public.
The final part of our mission is to ensure that regulation of the practice in engineering and land surveying are in alignment with the economic development strategy determined by Nevada’s governor and legislature.
But beyond our mission, what we’d really like to communicate to all our constituents– the public, engineers, land surveyors, students, legislature, and the governor–is that we exist to serve all of you.
We are YOUR Nevada Board.
What You Can Expect from Us
Beginning in January 2020, we will be expanding our communication efforts using a variety of channels to better reach our constituents. This outreach is designed to educate our audiences about things such as the value of professional licensure, the economic impact engineering and land surveying have on Nevada, new technologies that evolve the professions and how they are regulated, industry events, news, and much more. In order to truly be YOUR Nevada Board, we must act accordingly, and we believe that increased outreach and engagement will help us accomplish that goal.
The Public
Perhaps the most important role of NVBPELS is to protect public safety and welfare. Whether that’s by providing a vital resource in resolving consumer complaints through the administrative law process, assistance with information to potential engineering clients (such as providing and maintaining a list of firms, and list of licensees), sharing news and up-to-date information about the field of engineering, or developing and upholding the laws that ensure those professionals have the education, experience and ethics necessary to practice, NVBPELS will always work to ensure the safety and welfare of the public. We will provide this information and encourage a dialogue with everyone who interacts with these professionals to ensure their project (public or private) is completed ethically and to the standards expected of professionals.
Current Licensed Professionals
Since NVBPELS is 100% self-funded through the license fees we collect, our licensed professionals are key stakeholders. While we uphold and enforce the standards for our licensed professionals and their firms, we also want to remove unnecessary barriers to entry which stifle economic growth and diversification. We will continue to provide resources and information designed to help professionals and their firms, such as continuing education, updated regulations reflective of current professional practice, and keeping engineers and land surveyors informed of news and information that impacts their industries. For example, our digital signature workshops and the resulting task force was created to assist professionals with implementing electronic submittal processes (which is increasingly important with globalization of professionals) while maintaining absolute integrity of document authenticity.
Engineering and Land Surveying Students
One of the greatest challenges that the state faces is the fact that, nationally, only 20% of college graduates go on to get their professional license (PE). Coupled with losing 60% of Nevada engineers during the last great recession, it’s important to know that the path to licensure is fairly straight-forward. For engineers it starts with earning a four-year degree from an ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology)-accredited school, then passing both the fundamentals of engineering exam and the professional practice exam, culminating in four years of progressive and qualifying engineering experience. Our goal is to help engineering students understand this process and make it as accessible as possible. Licensing can open many career opportunities for engineers and land surveyors on a global scale. It grants access to a network of other young professionals as well as an invaluable network of mentors, colleagues and support.
Our Goal
Consistent with NVBPELS’ goals, the goals of our outreach are:
- To communicate with the Nevada public, prospective licensees and other key stakeholders to generate awareness of the essential role that engineering and land surveying licensure have in safeguarding public health, safety and welfare.
- To ensure that Nevada regulations are compatible with and reflective of the current state of practice in engineering and land surveying and that they are in alignment with Nevada’s economic development strategy.
- To demonstrate the path to and the value of licensure and that it results in continued growth in the number, quality and diversity of licensed engineers and land surveyors practicing in Nevada and their contribution to the economic growth and diversification of the state.
- To coordinate and collaborate with professional organizations and sister agencies to communicate and promote common interests and objectives.
We look forward to engaging with all our stakeholders–the public, engineers and land surveyors, students, legislature, and the governor. So stay tuned for frequent updates, videos, events and facts that will help explain why NVBPELS is YOUR Nevada board.
