The Registrar is on site in Wellington, New Zealand, covering key highlights and insights from CLEAR’s 8th International Congress on Professional and Occupational Regulation.
As global mobility accelerates and teams work across borders more than ever before, regulators are being asked to rethink how recognition, competence and fairness are supported in a changing professional world.
At CLEAR’s International Congress, Patty Mamola, Principal of PLM Group LLC and a long serving professional engineer in Nevada, invited regulators to see mobility and diversity not as pressures but as strategic strengths for modern regulation.
A central part of her session focused on the lived experience of practitioners. She shared the story of Girlie, a civil engineer educated and licensed in the Philippines who spent years working in the United States without recognition of her professional title. Her trajectory shifted after learning about the APEC Engineer Agreement, ultimately becoming the first engineer in the United States to be recognised under the International Engineering Alliance mobility framework. The result was a pathway to advancement, increased responsibility and professional visibility that had previously been out of reach.
Mamola emphasized that every mobility barrier affects a real person, and that inconsistency across jurisdictions creates friction without improving safety. Nevada’s experience in adopting international mobility agreements reinforced this point. Since institutionalising recognition of engineers on the international registers, the state has licensed 600 engineers through this pathway with no rise in risk or complaints.
Her message to regulators was clear. Leadership requires acting before conditions feel comfortable. “The world is moving. Regulation must move with it.” Mobility and diversity, aligned with strong standards, strengthen public protection and position regulators to meet the demands of a global talent environment.
8th International Congress on Professional and Occupational Regulation
Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation (CLEAR)
Congress Presenters: Patty Mamola, Principal, PLM Group LLC
