Doug Cashman
A group of technical education institutions in the US have come together to form the National Geospatial Technology Centre (NGTC), with the aim of “the voice for geospatial programs nationwide.”
The NGTC has confirmed annual funding of $1.25 million for four years from the National Scientific Foundation and is a partnership of seven community colleges, a community and technical college system, and Penn State and San Diego State Universities.
The Centre’s director, Phillip Davis, said that advanced geospatial technology and surveying equipment now affected almost every aspect of normal life, and that it was their aim to define the industry standards and establish professional models for the development of skills.
“The world is so interconnected today, and everything is based on spatial relationships,” Davis said. “It is one of our nation’s essential core tools.”
The NGTC will work with schools to develop faculty training and curriculum skills development in the field. It recently drafted a ‘competency model’ for the Department of Labor, to set the national skills standards for those who work in the industry. The model provides career guidance, curriculum development and evaluation, and outreach efforts to promote geospatial technology careers, according to the Department of Labor.
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