BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION

**HUMAN RESOURCES**

**Portland, Oregon**

**PERSONNEL LETTER NO. 338-2 (Revised) DATE: December 12, 2003**

**SUBJECT:** Qualification Determinations on Applicants Petitioning to
be Engineers.

# PURPOSE OF ISSUANCE

To describe uniform process for use in making qualification
determinations for applicants petitioning to be qualified as engineers.
This issuance summarizes, but in no way replaces, the provisions of OPM
Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions
(Operating Manual), that pertain to such qualification determinations.

# PURPOSE OF REVISION

The purpose of this revision is to re-title the issuance, include
references, update nomenclature, and make the Personnel Letter (PL)
accessible through the Human Resources internal website. This PL
supersedes PL No. 338-2, Qualification Determinations on Employees
Petitioning to be Engineers, dated March 11, 1980.

# REFERENCES

## 5 CFR Part 300, Employment (General)

## 5 CFR 338, Qualification Requirements (General)

A.  Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Operating Manual, Qualification
    Standards for General Schedule Positions

B.  BPA Manual Chapter 400/300A, Employment

# DEFINITIONS

#### [Applicant]{.underline}: A person who satisfies the minimum qualifications requirements.

C.  **[Panel]{.underline}:** Two people who have professional standing
    in the field.

### PROCESS

The following sequence is to be used for making qualification
determinations for applicants petitioning to be found qualified as
engineers.

A.  Steps 1 through 3 below comprise the three ways in which an
    applicant may be found qualified for engineering positions. If the
    applicant is found qualified under 1, 2, or 3, the procedures
    described in B. below are used to determine the highest-grade level
    for which the applicant is qualified.

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1.  Applicants may be found qualified for GS-5 engineering positions
    based on the basic qualification requirements for engineering
    positions at all levels found in OPM Qualification Standards,
    including the sections on General Policies and Instructions, Group
    Coverage Qualifications for Professional and Scientific Positions,
    and Individual Requirements for all Professional Engineering
    Positions.

2.  Applicants may also be found to be qualified for GS-5 engineering
    positions if they have an adequate background demonstrated by one of
    the following:

> a\. Current registration as a professional engineer;
>
> b\. Successful completion in an accredited college or university of at
> least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and
> engineering sciences and engineering, including the courses specified
> in the Operating Manual.
>
> c\. Passing the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination. The EIT test
> is used to determine whether applicants without a degree in
> engineering or other qualifying education have knowledge and
> understanding of the mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
> required to perform professional engineering work in a specialty field
> of engineering. This test is not to be considered as being in lieu of
> the requirement of at least 4 years of experience and/or education,
> which might be regarded as providing such knowledge;
>
> d\. Candidates who have completed all the requirements for a
> bachelor's degree in engineering technology including 60 semester
> hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, engineering sciences,
> and engineering listed in the Operating Manual and who pass the EIT
> examination may be rated as eligible for engineering positions at
> GS-5;
>
> e\. A degree in a related appropriate professional field may be
> accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering provided the candidate has
> at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under
> professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily this
> involves a completion of an established plan of intensive training to
> develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior
> professional engineering experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary
> positions.

3.  If the applicant does not qualify under 1 or 2 above but has a
    degree in a related field, she/he may be qualified through the
    following procedures found in the Operating Manual:

> a\. Assigned organizational Human Resources Specialist (HRS) obtains
> written statements from applicant's engineering supervisors. These
> statements must address whether or not the applicant has the "ability
> to perform fully professional work of the GS-12 grade level" and
> provide examples of the applicant's "ability to tackle novel problems
> for which the background knowledge of the professional and the
> available guides do not provide ready approaches to their solution."
> The requirement of GS-12 competence must be applied in all cases
> including qualification determinations for positions at GS-9 and
> GS-11. The requirement of GS-12 competence is simply a standard to
> insure that the applicant is able to perform as an engineer, i.e., a
> professional capable of performing competently in the broad spectrum
> of positions in the specialty field rather than in terms of their
> ability to perform the work of a specific position in the specialty
> field. These written statements, along with an updated resume,
> transcripts of academic work, and a work history, which prorates each
> work experience as to what proportion of it is claimed as professional
> engineering experience, are the basis for qualification analyses by a
> panel. The panel must include two people who have professional
> standing in the discipline of the specialty field. The HRS approves
> the panel.
>
> b\. The HRS acts as a technical resource to the panel in explaining
> the intent of the alternate method and in assuring that all applicable
> Operating Manual criteria are applied consistently.

B.  The following procedures are followed to determine the highest-grade
    level for which the applicant is qualified:

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1.  A panel identical to that described in A.3. above will make the
    grade-level qualification determination.

2.  The panel is instructed to examine the applicant's work experience
    and specialized education and apply the appropriate qualification
    standard. In addition to demonstration of the equivalent of the
    specified basic educational requirement for all positions in the
    occupation, the applicant must also satisfy the requirement of
    additional specialized experience required for eligibility at a
    particular grade level and option. In most cases where the
    candidate's undergraduate education does not full satisfy the basic
    educational requirement, substantially more than 3 years of
    experience may be necessary in order to meet this specialized
    experience requirement. In evaluating the experience obtained under
    a title other than that of the discipline of the position to be
    filled, full credit is given to experience, which contributes fully
    and directly to professional competence in the discipline.

> At a minimum, the panel will evaluate the applicant's updated resume
> and official transcripts. The applicant may volunteer, or the panel
> may request, additional items for evaluation.

3.  The panel must specify in writing which experience and education was
    credited to meet the requirements for the grade level for which the
    applicant is found to be qualified, explaining in detail why and how
    the quantity, quality, and relatedness of the applicant's education
    and experience meets the applicable standard.

4.  The HRS must insure that the panel's finding meets the criteria for
    the appropriate level of the qualification standard before
    concurring in the panel's determination.

Godfrey C. Beckett

Manager, Human Resources, Diversity and EEO