No engineers at your small business: a great internship or a minefield?

You land an internship at a small business. Small team, real projects, a front-row seat to decision-making, more opportunities to try your hand at everything. On paper, it’s exactly the kind of experience where you can learn a ton, because you’ll see firsthand how decisions are made and how projects come together.

But then, once you’re in the role, you realize there are no engineers—not on your team, not anywhere on-site. And there’s no plan for external immediate control and supervision.

No one seems worried about it. You’re told that “everyone does a bit of everything here,” that “you’ll learn on the job,” and that « in a small business, we don’t always have the resources that larger firms do.”

That may be true. But if your internship involves reserved activities, the size of the company doesn’t change the rules of the game. So it isn’t just whether the internship is interesting that you should be thinking about. It’s who will be supervising you when your work involves real engineering decisions.

Immediate control and supervision can’t be improvised

Just because there isn’t an engineer on your team doesn’t automatically mean you should question your internship. Immediate control and supervision (ICS) can be provided by an engineer outside your company.

But be careful: while the supervising engineer doesn’t need to be in the next office, external ICS can’t amount to just a name in an email or a signature at the end of a project.

It needs to be set up in advance, clearly assigned, and real. Specifically, you should know:

• who is responsible for the immediate control and supervision of your work
• what tasks this person will be supervising
• when they will be reviewing your work
• how to reach them when you have questions
• who verifies and authenticates documents when required

When it becomes risky

The problem begins when you’re assigned tasks involving reserved activities without immediate control and supervision. For example: performing engineering calculations, making changes to plans or specifications, preparing a technical report, determining whether a system is compliant, or recommending a solution as if you were an engineer.

In these situations, you may find yourself taking on responsibilities that aren’t yet yours. And if your work is submitted, used, or signed without having been under immediate control and supervision, the company is exposing itself to serious risks too.

Red flags: when to clarify things

Ask questions if:

• no one can tell you which engineer is providing technical supervision
• you’re told that “someone will take a look at it if needed”
• the external engineer only seems to appear when a document must be delivered
• no time is set aside for you to ask your technical questions
• you’re asked to make changes to plans, perform calculations, or prepare technical reports without review by an engineer
• your work is submitted to the client without a clear technical review
• you’re told: “In a small business, we can’t always afford an engineer.”
• you’re asked to provide a compliance conclusion or make recommendations as if you were an engineer

So who can provide the ICS if there are no engineers in the small business?

The person who supervises you could be:

• a colleague
• a manager
• a supplier or another external resource

In short, you still have options. But in any case, this person will need to have a good understanding of your day-to-day work.

In addition, make sure that the person you’re considering to supervise you:

• has held an engineering permit for at least three years
• has worked in engineering as an engineer with full practice rights for at least three years within the last five years, in a field relevant to the CEP’s practical training objectives
• has not had their permit revoked or restricted and has not been suspended, removed from the roll, or fined within the last five years (you can check this online in the Member Directory)

Requesting immediate control and supervision without causing a panic

 When to contact the OIQ

If, after asking who is responsible for the immediate control and supervision of your work, the answer remains unclear, contact the OIQ.

A small business can be an excellent place to learn: you get to be involved in many things, you quickly see the impact of your work, and you learn to understand real-world constraints. But the smaller the team, the clearer the supervision setup needs to be.

No engineer on-site doesn’t mean no internship. Ask questions during your internship interviews and find out who will be in charge of your immediate control and supervision before you end up carrying more than just your backpack.