We are continuing our Article series with KA02 Knowledge Assessment due to popular demand by many of our new clients. Resolving the IPENZ requirements and finalizing with a successful KA02 Report outcome is proven to be a difficult task. Thus, our instructions and advices below should help you get started.
KA02 Knowledge Assessment – basic information on eligibility to apply.
If you are preparing to migrate to New Zealand as an engineer you will be prompted to conduct either the KA01 or the KA02, depending on your educational background status. This is to substantiate your knowledge and prove that you have the competencies to work within your specified engineering field. The KA01 and 2 Reports are to be submitted to the Institution for Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ). This professional organization for engineers, with over 22,000 members, which is located in New Zealand. It is responsible for conducting the evaluations needed to ensure that the applying engineers have the necessary skills and experience.
In order to clarify what determines the type of Knowledge Assessment you have to prepare you need to consider the following:
Engineers asked to submit the KA02 Reports are professionals who do not have adequate ICT qualifications, or who come with non-ICT backgrounds. This means that their ICT materials are not on a satisfactory level, and that the IPENZ’s criteria for ICT professionals still needs to be fulfilled. Additionally, if the candidate has obtained a degree from a university not affiliated to the Washington Accord, they are then prompted to prepare and send a KA02 Report to IPENZ.
The applicant is to submit the KA01 form, if the university degree from the applying engineer is equivalent to the New Zealand’s educational system, or if it is from another educational system which is a part of the Washington Accord.
By preparing these Reports the engineering professionals are given a chance to illustrate their work and experience. This, in turn, helps the IPENZ authorities evaluate their competencies. If the Report is well done, the IPENZ will accept the application and allow them to compete on the New Zealand engineering job market.
The guidance is available from here: https://d2rjvl4n5h2b61.cloudfront.net/media/documents/Knowledge_Assessment_Guidance.pdf
The first steps in KA02 Knowledge Assessment and its requirements and purpose.
Before even considering to apply, the engineers need to make sure they have the basic required skills and knowledge in ICT, as that is the first impediment in their way. The details on these requirements are to be filled in the KA02 Report, so as to substantiate their claim that they are eligible to apply. Hence, this Report is very important and should be prepared with the outmost care and attention.
Additionally, in order to be approved by the IPENZ authorities the applying engineers need to submit information on 3 or 4 engineering projects first. These should include details of the projects they worked on either during their studies or professional work. The information for these projects needs to be carefully inserted, so as to avoid any shortcomings. Also, no plagiarism is allowed, so engineers need to present true information on their respective projects to succeed.
The information in the presented projects needs to include the project objectives, the duration of the project and the information on your position during the project. Furthermore, you need to present the hierarchy and background of the company you worked for. More precise information includes the details on the responsibilities you have had during the projects. These may relate to the difficulties you have encountered and how you have solved them. The design needs to be presented with at least two good examples. In addition, the technical part should also contain calculations and the codes and standards used in your work. Welcomed inputs are regarding any innovations you have implemented, alongside with literature or documentation you may have consulted during the work.
Now moving back to the KA02 Report itself. It is a Knowledge Assessment in form of a technical report. It is requested by the IPENZ authorities in New Zealand and in order to obtain points for your New Zealand Skilled Migration. The Report is required for all engineers, who have obtained their accredited qualifications from an authorized University. As mentioned above, if an engineer has a degree from a university not in the Washington Accord, he is allowed with the KA02 Report to showcase his engineering skills and knowledge. This is to prove that they have reached the levels required by the IPENZ and that they can work on job positions in New Zealand.
Thus, the preparation of the KA02 Report includes presenting the skills in a clear and precise manner, so the competencies can be discerned. This means that the engineer needs to be very specific and detailed in presenting the competencies required. Additionally, the engineers are expected to showcase advanced engineering knowledge, including but not limited to, design, problems solved and calculations done during their respective projects.
This is not an easy task, and it usually includes consultations and confirmations from many sides. Hence, the engineers need to be ready to contact their former employers and colleagues, so as to substantiate their claims in the most optimal fashion. Furthermore, the language in the Report needs to be technical and with good English proficiency. This complicates the matters further, as many Reports have been turned down due to improper language used.
The difficulties that arise from these requirements show that many applying engineers simply could not present their work properly. This lead to the rejection of their cases and a big waste of time and resources, as the applications are not cheap in that respect either. The issue that also accompanies such poor results includes lack of time to appropriately place all the needed information. An additional obstacle is the sheer number of new applicants, who put an extra pressure to the IPENZ evaluators to resolve the cases quickly.
As this follows many of our new clients, we have prepared special set of instructions to guide them through the entire preparation process. This has proven essential in many cases due to client’s lack of in-depth understanding of the overall application process, and especially the requirements. When preparing the KA02 on their own many engineers tend to provide much less of the important and needed inputs, and usually fill in the form with what they are comfortable with. This proves to be a very dangerous misstep which leads to rejection. We are thus open to your queries on any information presented here, which you want to recheck and confirm.
What can you do to ensure you are on the right path?
The applying engineers for KA02 knowledge assessment need to make sure they have read and understood all the IPENZ guidelines beforehand. The IPENZ requirements are not flexible and if you are lacking proper experience you should rethink applying before you do. You must check if you are able to provide all the information needed in advance. If you need any additional or supporting inputs from your employer or colleague, this is the time to contact them and obtain that information. You need to make sure you understand your engineering field in-depth, so you can provide explicit explanations in the places that require them in the Report.
Moreover, know you work well, so you are able to illustrate all the important points. This means to highlight your best examples and reduce the influence of any less important work. Present your KA02 content in the clearest possible way. Do not use complicated phrases or long sentences. Remember the IPENZ authorities are interested in your work and not your eloquence.
You need to respect the language and style as per the official standards requested. Finally, check and obtain the proper KA02 form, so you do not risk being rejected for such a minute, but important mistake;
What are the most frequent problems reported by our clients when applying for KA02 knowledge assessment?
Lack of proper competencies presented in the KA02 knowledge assessment Report, which lead to lack of skills and knowledge presented. Another common mistake is the actual language used, which is either too poor or too complicated. Missed supporting documents, such as pay slips (or other proof of payment) can also lead to rejection. An additional mistake is not to substantiate your Report with sufficient details, such as, lack of design, calculations or other technical issues. In connection, proper presentation of your skills and knowledge and being able to highlight them can lead to them being poorly understood and thus rejected. And finally, last minute preparations, due to deadlines, are the most general reason for rejection, due to many rushed mistakes made this way.
Where we stand with KA02 Knowledge Assessment?
CDRsample has obtained valid experience in over 12 years of work and assistance to engineers from all over the world. We have followed the IPENZ authorities and changing requirements over the years, so you do not have to. This proficiency is accompanied by a large pool of Technical Writers, covering all important engineering fields. Hence, we are ready to assist any applying engineer, by allocating a Writer with in-depth knowledge of their respective ANZSCO code, and long term understanding of the application process. The most important feature being confidence on our results and timely submission of your documents.
