DOL releases Geospatial Technology Competency Model
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has released an industry competency model for geospatial technology. It joins 16 other models available on the Competency Model Clearinghouse available through the ETA’s One-Stop Career Centers website.
The model is designed to serve as a resource for career guidance, curriculum development and evaluation, career pathway development, recruitment and hiring, continuing professional development, certification and assessment development, apprenticeship program development and outreach efforts to promote geospatial technology careers. The Geospatial Technology Competency Model was developed by researching and analyzing publicly available resources, existing skill standards, competency-based curricula and certifications to provide an employer-driven framework of the skills needed for success in geospatial technology. “Competency models offer workers an opportunity to learn what it takes to enter a particular field,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis in a statement. “The geospatial model serves as a guide for those who want to both find a good job and map out a long-term career pathway in any of several geospatial technology fields, including surveying and mapping, computer science and information science.”
The model builds on previous efforts to describe geospatial industry skill needs. The new model groups competencies into foundational competencies, core geospatial competencies and competencies for three geospatial sectors: positioning and data acquisition, analysis and modeling, and software and application development.
Access the new competency model and read more information on the range of Department of Labor employment and training programs.