Abstract

Occupation-specific technical competencies for GIS and Remote Sensing Technicians
Track: Educational Research and Teacher Education
Authors: John Johnson

The U.S. Department of Labor has recently recognized several new geospatial job titles but the occupation-specific technical competencies for these jobs remain outside the scope of the new Geospatial Technology Competency Model (GTCM). Instead these competencies have been initially defined by workforce analysts at the US Department of Labor. The National Geospatial Technology Center, funded by the National Science Foundation to support community college geospatial education programs, is currently in the process of validating and clarifying this workforce information using industry practitioners and a series of DACUM job analyses. This work is being conducted to help the nation's 164 GIS certificate programs update and develop their curriculum and training resources. Discussion will include workforce competencies for GIS Technicians and Remote Sensing Technicians, the process used to collect and validate this information and curriculum assessment tools currently under development by the National Geotech Center.