• Del Mar College

Corpus Christi, TX

GeoTech Center’s accomplishments include

• Assisting the U.S. Department of Labor in creating a national Geospatial Technology Competency Model (GTCM).
• Establishing national common core competencies for geographic information systems (GIS) technicians.
• Facilitating installation of remote desktop application access technology at 10 colleges and supporting use at secondary and middle schools.
• Increasing enrollment in geospatial technology programs at partner colleges.
• Updating the geospatial technology skills of teachers and technicians.

Students Access Geospatial Technologies Thanks to GeoTech Center

GeoTech Center’s work on remote desktop application access technology makes it possible for students in middle and secondary schools to gain direct access to the most current geospatial application software. By eliminating the need for complicated installation and maintenance of application software, GeoTech Center facilitates direct access to the latest geospatial technology by students who might not otherwise experience it.

The new Geospatial Technology Competency Model (GTCM), which the center helped the U.S. Department of Labor develop, clarifies how geospatial educators should align their curricula with new national standards. The GTCM may also lead to professional certification that will document graduates’ expertise to employers.

The GIS general education course developed by GeoTech Center partners is another example of the innovations it is pursuing to help students transfer geospatial technology courses from community colleges to universities. It is contributing to the growth of geospatial technology programs at 2-year colleges.

GeoTech Center Helps Industry, Education With National Competency Model

GeoTech Center assisted the Department of Labor in completing the new Geospatial Technology Competency Model (GTCM) now published in its Employment and Training Administration model clearinghouse. This national model of critical worker skills and competencies provides the industry with a definition of its cross-cutting, common core competencies as well as its specialized industry sector segments. Before the GTCM and the resulting Standard Occupation Codes, there was no common definition of the industry or its sectors.

With the GTCM, managers and human resource officers can now better define the skills and abilities required by the 10 distinct occupations supported by the GTCM. This boosts efforts to improve the alignment of academic curricula and workforce education with workplace needs and demands. No longer do educators or employers need to puzzle about what should be taught to whom in the industry. From its research, GeoTech Center has created new tools for educators to assess their own courses and programs of study to see how well they align with the national standard and to perform critical gap-analysis between their programs and courses and the GTCM.

New professional standards for certification and recognition in the industry are being developed as a result of the research GeoTech Center has performed for the GTCM. These include the GIS Certification Institute’s new competency-based exam for its GIS Professional certification.