See how a successful P.Eng applicant structured their Competency-Based Assessment using clear Situation, Action, and Outcome examples. This free example helps you understand what a strong CBA report looks like before you write, review, or submit your own competencies.
For learning only. Do not copy or submit this example as your own work.
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How to structure SAO
How to show personal responsibility
How engineering judgment appears
How outcomes are written
How competencies are aligned
Use this example for learning only. Your CBA must be based on your own engineering experience. Do not copy, reuse, or submit someone else's work.
CertNova helps you understand the requirements, structure your examples, identify gaps, review your draft, and improve clarity ethically.
The P.Eng CBA process can feel unclear when you do not know what a strong answer looks like. Applicants often struggle with how much detail to include, how to show engineering judgment, and how to connect their work experience to competency indicators. A real approved example gives you a reference point before you spend weeks writing or rewriting.
The writing that makes a competency strong is the same across Canada. What changes is the system you submit it in, the number of competencies and the space you are given.
Professional Engineers Ontario
The free example on this page is a PEO submission, written against the 34 competencies and accepted by PEO in 2025. PEO's CBA replaced the older experience record, so each example has to show what you did against a defined competency, not a chronological job history.
EGBC, APEGS, EGM, APEGNB, PEGNL, Engineers Nova Scotia, Engineers PEI
These regulators share one online Competency Assessment system built on the same 34 competencies, so the structure in the PEO example carries over. The practical difference is length: Situation and Outcome are capped at 300 characters each and Action at 1,200, so the Action has to carry the evidence. Eight Canadian-environment competencies must each reach their minimum rating on their own.
APEGA, plus NAPEG and Engineers Yukon applicants
APEGA assesses its own framework of 22 competencies in the Competency-Based Assessment Tool in myAPEGA. You self-rate each competency and a validator confirms it. The way the example shows your own actions and engineering judgment still applies, but map your stories to APEGA's 22 competencies rather than the national 34.
Your regulator's own applicant guide is always the authority on its competencies, limits and validator rules. For every PEO competency explained one by one, see PEO CBA examples for all 34 competencies.
The answer describes the project but not the competency.
The assessor cannot see what the applicant personally did.
Decisions, constraints, risks, trade-offs, or reasoning are unclear.
The result is vague, generic, or not connected to the action.
The example does not clearly address the expected indicators.
Answer one quick question and we'll point you to the best free resource or support for your situation.
CertNovaThe approved example shows what a strong submission looks like. CBA Pro helps you build your own submission with guided prompts, SAO structure, competency alignment, and self-assessment support.
CBA Pro helps you structure and improve your own experience. It does not replace your responsibility as the applicant.
For applicants who already wrote their CBA and want practical feedback before submission.
Get My CBA ReviewedFor applicants who received comments, revisions, or rejection from their regulator.
Fix My CBAFor applicants who want guided 1-on-1 support while completing their CBA.
Book ConsultingYes, it is an authentic, approved P.Eng CBA example verified by Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) in 2025. This Competency-Based Assessment example was written using CBA Pro and approved by PEO to allow P.Eng licensure for our user. It is published with permission for educational use only, anonymized to protect the applicant's identity. Our goal at CertNova Software Solutions Inc. is to show future applicants what a real, regulator-approved report looks like: how technical depth, ethics, and clarity align with PEO's 34 competencies.
No. Use it to understand structure, tone, and depth. Your CBA must be based on your own experience.
A strong CBA example clearly explains the situation, the applicant's personal actions, engineering judgment, and the outcome.
The example is PEO-focused, but many lessons apply to applicants using competency-based assessment systems across Canada.
EGBC assesses the 34 national competencies, grouped in seven categories, through the shared online Competency Assessment system. In that system Situation and Outcome are capped at 300 characters each and Action at 1,200, and eight Canadian-environment competencies must each reach their minimum rating on their own.
Yes. APEGS, EGBC, EGM, APEGNB, PEGNL, Engineers Nova Scotia and Engineers PEI use the same online Competency Assessment system and the same 34 competencies, though each regulator sets its own validator and experience rules. APEGA and PEO run their own processes.
APEGA uses its own framework of 22 competencies rather than the national 34. You complete it in the Competency-Based Assessment Tool in myAPEGA, where each competency is self-rated and then confirmed by a validator. Applicants to NAPEG and Engineers Yukon complete the same APEGA assessment.
APEGA publishes its applicant guidance for the Competency-Based Assessment on apega.ca, and the assessment itself is completed in myAPEGA. Treat APEGA's own guide as the authority on its 22 competencies and rating rules. The example on this page shows how a strong competency is written.
Compare the structure with your own experience. If you haven't written yours yet, use CBA Pro. If you already have a draft, get a CBA Review. If you received comments, use Rejection Support.
Use the example to understand structure, but get specific help reviewing your regulator's comments and improving your response.
No. CBA Pro interviews you about your own work, asking what your association looks for, and turns your CV and your answers into a formatted draft for you to review and improve. It shows you where information is still missing, so every fact comes from you.
If you are unsure whether your examples clearly demonstrate the competencies, a review can help identify gaps before you submit.
No. The example is shared for learning only and must never be copied or submitted. Your CBA has to reflect your own engineering experience, decisions, and outcomes. Use it to understand structure, depth, and tone, then write your own competencies. CBA Pro can interview you about your own work and turn your answers into drafts.
CBA Pro interviews you competency by competency, asking what your association looks for, matches your real work experience to the right indicators, and turns your answers into a Situation, Action and Outcome draft. You start from your own answers instead of a blank page, and a free readiness grade shows what is still missing.
No. CBA Pro is built around the competency-based assessment model used by PEO but supports applicants across Canadian regulators such as APEGA, APEGS, EGBC, and others. The competency framework and SAO structure are similar, and CBA Pro adapts to your association's expectations.
One competency is free, then three one-time plans: $97, $197 or $297. Each includes work-experience matching, the interview questions, drafts formatted from your answers, a reviewer pass and a readiness grade. A licensed P.Eng review is a separate service, discounted on the paid plans. You can see current plans and exactly what is included on the CBA Pro pricing page.
It asks about your work based on the competency indicators your regulator uses, so the draft holds the evidence assessors read for. Its reviewer pass then flags anything that looks too descriptive, lacks personal ownership or misses engineering judgment. Your regulator decides, and you can add a licensed P.Eng review before you submit.
Generic tools do not understand how Canadian regulators assess competencies, and they can produce content that is not your own, which puts your submission at risk. CBA Pro is purpose-built for the CBA: it interviews you about your own experience, aligns your answers to competency indicators, formats only what you provide, and supports self-assessment. Anything it cannot confirm from your answers becomes a placeholder for you to fill, never an invented detail.
That is common. CBA Pro interviews you about your experience and turns your answers into drafts, so you can use it for the ones you have not written yet, or to rebuild a weak one from the experience itself. For expert feedback on drafts you have already written, request a CBA Review. If you received regulator comments, Rejection Support helps you understand them and revise.
It depends on how much experience you need to document and how ready your examples are. CBA Pro takes the blank page away: it asks you questions and turns your answers into a draft, one competency at a time, and the readiness grade shows what is still missing.
CertNova has helped Engineers-in-Training across Canada move toward P.Eng licensure by structuring CBA submissions, preparing for the NPPE, reviewing drafts and supporting applicants after a rejection. Our free example is a real competency set that PEO accepted in 2025, shared with the applicant's permission, so you can study how a complete submission reads.
CertNova offers a free, real approved PEO CBA (Competency-Based Assessment) example for Canadian P.Eng applicants. The example shows how to structure work experience using Situation, Action, and Outcome (SAO), demonstrate personal responsibility and engineering judgment, and align experience with competency indicators. It is provided for educational use only and must not be copied or submitted. After downloading, applicants can use CBA Pro to turn their own experience into a CBA draft, request a CBA Review of an existing draft, or use Rejection Support if a CBA was returned with comments.
Start by seeing what an approved report looks like. Then choose the right support for your next step.