Archive for the ‘Employment Situation’ Category

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Emerging Geospatial Occupations

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

The geospatial technology market is growing at an annual rate of almost 35 percent, according to GITA (Geospatial Information & Technology Association). Employers will tap an assortment of resource pools to meet the growth of emerging occupations within the geospatial technology industry. This will include targeting young workers through apprenticeship and high school/college dual-enrollment dual-credit agreements like the TIMSGeoTech (Tiered Internship Model For Students In Geospatial Technology) program at Pikes Peak Community College. This pilot was made possible from a grant from the National Science Foundation and GeoSearch has been working with Colorado colleges and universities to advance similar programs. This tiered internship model brings together a diverse group of industry stakeholders (students, educators and professionals) to develop a ready geospatial workforce through hands-on learning, training and mentoring.

Surveying

One major emerging occupation calling for a highly-trained workforce within the geospatial technology industry is the increased adoption of machine guidance systems. GPS Machine Control produced by major equipment manufacturers has changed the way businesses complete the tasks of grading, surveying, and excavating. Contractors and construction companies who use GPS machine control systems are utilizing the technology to streamline work from procurement to the dirt mover. The technology is a major paradigm shift for the job site that influences the planning, site calibration, data preparation, and project QAQC.

The workforce best suited to fill these roles are today’s Surveyors. Surveyors can get training directly from equipment manufacturers like Caterpillar, Leica, Topcon, Trimble, etc.. However, rebranding as GPS Machine Control experts is advised. This subject is best articulated in an article by Software Advice‘s Houston Neal titled “Automation of Surveying Creates Disruption and Opportunities“.

Check that article out today!

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PPCC Interactive Workshop on Spatial Technologies

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

Rampart Range Campus

In an effort to support and promote the inclusion of geospatial applications in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in Colorado, the Colorado Community College System (CCCS), Pikes Peak Community College, and UCCS offered a free one-day interactive Workshop on Spatial Technologies for Career and Technical Education at the PPCC Rampart Range Campus on November 5th 2010.

Spatial technology is found in numerous career fields and career paths. Geographic Information Science involves the use of various cutting-edge computer-aided technologies in areas that include social media technology, mobile media technology, manufacturing, medicine, communications, planning and agriculture not to mention national, state and local government operations.  It represents a commercially viable area in which employers require a steady supply of well-qualified, technically able, and skilled practitioners.

Demand for geospatial technicians in the United States and many other world regions is growing faster than the pool of qualified candidates.  As a result, two-year colleges are partnering with high schools in designing spatial technology career pathways that lead students through well-planned secondary course sequences and into articulated two-year postsecondary programs.  The creation of this secondary-to-postsecondary “pipeline” of students is critical to the success of producing enough qualified technicians to meet industry needs.

Discussion

GeoSearch, Inc. participated on a panel discussion titled “The Importance of Geospatial Technology for Your Future”.  Will Mast, a PPCC professor and geospatial consultant, launched the discussion demonstrating how his spatial background has aided his career working with remote sensing technology and GIS software analysis.  Jessica Smith, a student at the University of Colorado at Colorado Spring, described her interest in the GIS program and her internship at Sanborn mapping company.  She explained that what she does is in demand and that employers are eager to connect with her when she graduates.  Richard Serby, President of GeoSearch, Inc. detailed the importance of the Department of Labor’s 2010 decision to recognize geospatial technologies as an industry.  Christopher Markuson, a GIS Manager for Pueblo County, described all the challenging and interesting career opportunities that a geospatial background can provide.

For more information on these programs visit www.ppcc.edu

Posted in candidates, Employers, Employment Situation, GIS, talent | No Comments »

GIS Career Night at the Tivoli Center, Denver CO

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

Yesterday, the associations of GIS professionals Rocky Mountain Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA), Rocky Mountain Region of American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) and Rocky Mountain Geographic Information Technology Association (GITA) held a GIS CAREER NIGHT at the the Tivoli Student Union which serves as a hub of student activity for the Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State College of Denver and University of Colorado Denver.

The GITA Rocky Mountain Chapter Board of Directors representative Natalie Cutsforth kicked things off with a presentation overview of the Geospatial Information and Technology Association.   GITA is an information resource and community for anyone who has a vested interest in the use of geospatial information.  The organization provides excellent networking opportunities for geospatial job seekers.

That presentation was followed with an overview of ASPRS by  Ms. Linda E. Meyer, the ASPRS Rocky Mountain Region Treasurer.  She highlighted their mission to promote the responsible applications of photogrammetry, remote sensing, GIS, and supporting geotechnologies and explained the advantages of membership.  She also mentioned that her company GeoEye is growing and that hiring activity is up.

Tony Palizzi, the current URISA Rocky Mountain Chapter president, presented the URISA briefing and moderated the distinguished panel, which included Linda Meyer of GeoEye, Pamela Fromhertz of NOAA, and Richard Serby of GeoSearch.

Those in attendance included employees of the Census Bureau, DOT, Metro State, DU, and Inergraph.  There were professional land surveyors, oil and gas technicians, land use GIS, Regional Council of Government members, LiDAR professionals, and dozens of former, current, and future students.  The crowd numbered about 50.  Last year totaled over 150.

Lengthy discussions ensued on numerous topics.  The first discussion revolved around the geospatial career outlook.  Richard Serby went over the national unemployment numbers from last year, this year, and the best of years.  Colorado unemployment numbers have been better than the national numbers but that isn’t to say that the local economy hasn’t suffered.  “Let’s talk about the good news.” he said, “I’m done talking about the bad news.”  The good news is that companies, agencies, and the federal government have started to add staff.  “It will be a long road to reach the optimal unemployment number of 5%.” he said.  But now that demand for geospatial applications  is on the rise, more jobs need to be filled and that is chipping away at the 10% unemployment number where we currently sit.

Several questions on internships followed.  Most of the panel agreed that for students that need to gain experience, an internship can be invaluable.  Tips to negotiate a paid internship were discussed and the value of an unpaid internship is not to be overlooked for getting your foot in the door.  Many colleges are helping students make this happen.  To see more on this topic read:The First Rung of the Ladder… Many on the panel started their geospatial career with a paid internship.

Before the networking session the topics included citizenship, clearances, overqualified objections, the new energy economy, and networking your way into the seat that you want.  We hope to network with you at this event next year!  If you attended, we would love your feedback.

Posted in candidates, Employers, Employment Situation, Energy, GIS, Uncategorized | No Comments »

The First Rung of the Ladder…

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

This blog has been following the geospatial career market. Most current indicators point to great demand for an increasing number of geospatial related services in dozens of markets from smart grid technologies, location intelligence, and mobile applications to name a few. Job seekers will tackle the overall employment increase by stepping on many different rungs of the corporate ladder.

Now, there is good news for those that need to start on the first rung of the ladder. The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a grant to The Pikes Peak Community College Geography Department in August of 2009. This pilot program seeks to implement a Tiered Internship Model for Students in Geospatial Technology (TIMSGeoTech). Interns that have an interest in starting a geospatial career can participate in this program and create a network of contacts while gaining school credit.

The funding of $149,542 will sustain the program from this year through the summer 2011. Under-represented groups will benifet from TIMSGeoTech through outreach to workforce development offices, by providing resources to unemployed and underemployed individuals. The PPCC GIS Advisory Board, made up of Colorado industry professionals starting with Donna Arkowski, the PPCC Geography Department chair, and Dr. Irina Kopteva, principal investigator for the project and adjunct Geography and GIS instructor. The work is supported by Mary-Ann Wermers, dean of Health, Environmental, Natural & Physical Sciences; Jennifer Jirous, Colorado Community College System; Jason San Souci, executive vice president and chief operating officer of NCDC Imaging & Mapping; Richard Serby, president and owner of GeoSearch, Inc.; Jay Tilley, senior vice president and general manager of Sanborn, Inc.; Cynthia Pesek, director for Career and Technical Education at Academy School District 20; Patressa Gardner, South Carolina Advanced Technological Education (SC ATE) Center; and Dr. Phillip Davis, National Geospatial Technology (GeoTech) Center.

The results of TIMSGeoTech will provide many opportunities for programming students. There are always geospatial jobs for candidates using VB, Java, Python, html, xml, ESRI’s map objects, and other programs that integrate provide digital map development, spatial data management, application development, data migration, and more. GIS is a rapidly changing and developing industry.

To step on the first rung of the ladder in this industry, a GIS certificate and AAS degree, along with a full retinue of GIS coursework is a great place to start.

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Hot Job Market For Global Mobile Applications…

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

Human demand for superior communications won’t subside until every inch of the world has access to digital communication. Enovation in voice, video, and Internet communications services is at an all time high, which is why mobile phone subscriptions now outnumber fixed-line subscriptions in several markets. Many third world countries have bypassed wired communications all together. This kind of growth is good news for surveying companies and GIS communities who will play major roles in developing this entirely new framework.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), www.bls.gov the employment numbers for mobile service workers will grow because technological advances will expand the range of services offered. Wireless jobs only account for 21% of the telecommunications industry which provided 973,000 wage and salary jobs in 2006. Half of telecom workers are employed by businesses with 5 to 249 employees and with continuing deregulation there is even more opportunity for small contractors.

Geospatial related companies from Brazil, Bosnia, Finland, Czech Republic, Germany, and Australia have all penned major infrastructure development contracts for mobile GIS in 2009. Yesterday, Iridium Communications Inc. received authorizations to operate, provide and sell mobile satellite services (MSS) in Mexico. Low-earth orbiting (LEO) satellite constellations provide service where no other means of communication exists. Demand is responsible for modern world networks like GSM, GPRS, 3G and now 4G to carry GIS applications geared toward industries and government agencies that require reliable communications at all times.

Greater demand for an increasing number of geospatial related services in every vehicle, home, building, aircraft, and ship, will cause overall employment in the global mobile applications market to increase. In addition, many job opportunities will result from the need to replace a large number of communication workers who are expected to retire in the coming decade. With a growing number of retirements and the continuing need for interested, qualified, and available candidates, new job opportunities will be available for individuals with up-to-date technical skills and geospatial knowhow. It’s a hot market for global mobile applications. Jobs prospects will be best for those with 2 or 4-year degrees.

Posted in Employment Situation, jobs, Mexico, mobile, telecom | No Comments »

Excellent timing!

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

The geospatial community is turning attention away from last week’s Location Intelligence 2009 conference held in Denver to the GEOINT 2009 Symposium in San Antonio, Texas. These events provide tremendous networking opportunities for both attendees and exhibitors. They highlight the advances in geospatial technology. These events showcase cutting edge technologies that significantly improve performance, productivity, and geospatial ability across industry, academia, government, professional organizations and individual stakeholders.

These particular conferences seemed to have timed the market during an uptick. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged closer to the 10000 level this week and economists report rising confidence about an economic recovery. Geospatial companies like DigitalGlobe made news when it’s new WorldView-2 satellite launched into space last week from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Perenco (an oil and gas exploration and development company) just contracted Fugro EarthData, Inc. to provide detailed topographic mapping of a proposed oil pipeline route in northern Peru. Airport technology company Faith Group LLC including Woolpert Inc. was awarded a $378,000 contract to conduct an information technology master plan for the Cleveland Airport System (CAS).

The geospatial community is well positioned to capture its fair share of the economic rebound. I should caution that although many economists now believe the national recession has ended, experts also think the economic rebound will be drawn out over many months. Still, according to The Monster Employment Index, the fall job search season is kicking into high gear at all levels from entry-level jobs on up to management-trainee, technical and professional full-time careers. The Index rose in August, seeing its highest monthly rate of improvement in four years. It dipped slightly in September but the October numbers are expected to rise again.

This ongoing economic volatility will continue and it will result in new challenges for organizations that need to be aggressively courting the best talent available. Organizations will need an updated plan and strategy for recruiting talent as the economy turns around. Experienced, targeted, community specific recruiting firms will be more valuable in planning and developing the next workforce than ever before. The geospatial community is showing off some exciting technology and the development has created some outstanding career opportunities. Excellent timing!

The Monster Employment Index is a monthly gauge of U.S. online job demand based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of corporate career Web sites and job boards, including Monster. http://about-monster.com/employment-index. This month, the GeoSearch job board http://www.geosearch.com had the highest monthly rate of job posting increases since August 2007.

Posted in Employment Situation, GIS, Growth, jobs, recruiting | No Comments »

When It Rains…

Friday, October 9th, 2009

US stocks have been pushing higher and words like optimism, confidence, and even growth have been used to describe our current economy. This week at the Location Intelligence Conference in Westminster Colorado, several companies repeated the same story to the question “How’s business?”. The story included how difficult the first quarter of 2009 was and how the second quarter was equally bad. Then, sometime near the end of the third quarter orders started being generated and then business started to develop. For many, the third quarter matched the revenue for their 1st and 2nd quarters combined. One exebitor said that “With all this water in the atmosphere, it means its going to rain!” (Joe Francica, Conference Chairman pictured above)

GeoSearch provided the conference employment workshop where industry executives and employment specialist provided job seekers strategies to find employment in this tough job market. During this workshop, weekly initial jobless claims fell to the lowest level since the start of the year, signaling an improvement in economic activity.

One breakout session discussed location tracking and the mobile workforce. The three presenters included Robert Laudati from Trimble, David Hemphill from ObjectFX, and Ziv Baum from Zipano. The discussion detailed workforce tracking systems technically comprised with a combination of global positioning systems (GPS) and mobile phone technology using the internet and digital mapping to display data in real time. Each presenter discussed the topic from different perspectives. Trimble highlighted the hardware involved and some feature/benefit capabilities for workers in the field. ObjectFX discussed the 3D location abilities and the public safety vertical market that is interested in expanding this technology. Zipano focused on the social network applications of tracking friends, coworkers, and family and the privacy issues involved. The interest in this topic is hot. Interest in all of this technology is hot and these companies are adding staff. The CEO of Zipano – Zip Baum put it bluntly when he said “We need people”.

Posted in Employers, Employment Situation, Growth, jobless, market | No Comments »

The New Energy Economy… Time to recruit!

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

There is an emerging need to recruit in what is called the “New Energy Economy”!

Let me explain… Analysts at the research group (New Energy) track worldwide investments into clean energy. On Friday, those analysts said that this year, $13.3 billion was invested in the first quarter, $28.6 billion in the second quarter, and thanks to “green” stimulus dollars pledged by major economies, investments in the third quarter reached $25.9 billion. They also revised their full year forecast to $115 billion from $95 billion. If the forecast holds, the 2009 investment levels would still fall short of 2007 and 2008 totals but the outlook for 2010 is positive. According to New Energy, pledges for worldwide Government stimulus spending equals about $163 billion on programs to promote renewable energy.

The New Energy Economy is the result of a global resolve to improve utility systems that deliver energy. US renewable-energy construction projects in Nevada are creating a demand for workers trained in emerging electrical systems. A $14.6 million smart Grid water power project funded by the DOE was just awarded in Palo Alto, CA. A portion of this funding is for developing a GIS-based dataset and software tools. Wide varieties of projects from coast to coast are starting to receive funding and will fuel the job growth for The New Energy Economy.

Vishal Shah of Barclays Capital in New York City published a Solar Energy Handbook in May and noted that solar’s dominant technology – crystalline – has realized a significant price drop that makes solar more competitive with fossil fuels. As the credit market starts to ease, Shah believes that starting in 2010, the volume of solar panels being shipped will triple during the next four years. This change in the market will trigger demands for workers and management.

Kevin Doyle, principal of Green Economy and co-chairman of the New England Clean Energy Council, said at a Mass Green Conference last week that for every $1 million invested in energy efficiency, almost 36 jobs are created. And while Alan Greenspan said today that the latest job report showing the nation’s unemployment at 9.8 percent was “pretty awful” and that he expected the figure to climb even higher, it doesn’t mean that some sectors will recover faster than others. Are you prepared to staff in the New Energy Economy?

Posted in Employment Situation, Energy, GIS, Green, jobs, rcession, Recovery, solar | No Comments »

Goliath Returns To Fight Small Business…

Monday, September 28th, 2009


The trend of giant corporations comes and goes. In the mid 90′s, huge corporations had retreated. By 1996 a full quarter of IBM’s workforce disappeared when they laid-off 122,000 employees inside of five years. For the first time in its history, Boeing operated with a majority of its work done by contracting out 52 percent of its work because it couldn’t manage its size. Continental, Pan Am and Midway, airlines with great traditions and a history of innovation, split up due to bankruptcy. Shareholders demanded blue chips do more with less. Corporate boards sought automation to replace workers and entrepreneurs were outsmarting their bloated foes.



Indeed, small start-ups were in high fashion. Dozens of disk-drive start-ups blossomed along with biotech start-ups and of course there were the dot.com’s. Large service companies were viewed as less responsive and the best talent sought quick and nimble businesses like eBay and Yahoo. Workers were attracted by the upswing potential of an IPO and they wanted to take more risk. Everyone sought a ground floor opportunity. The era of the Goliath Corporation was ending.



Gigantic corporations have returned. An uptick in mergers and acquisitions is evidence that conglomerate partnerships will weed out mid-sized companies and produce huge corporate businesses. Last week Dell Inc. said it would buy Perot Systems Corp. for $3.9 billion, Oracle Corp. is closing a $7.4 billion deal for computer server and software maker Sun Microsystems Inc., and today Xerox will acquire ACS for about $6.4 billion.



These big companies have tons of resources that will allow them to emerge from the downturn stronger. Recruiting and retention efforts will focus on placing internal candidates first; to fulfill their succession plans and increase the satisfaction of its workforce. Large talent acquisition budgets will allow their internal recruiters to advertise open positions to large targeted demographic pools of candidates and large job fairs will lure crowds of job seekers that will fill out applications and compete for job openings. Large companies benefit from the fact that risk is not as attractive as it was in the late 90′s.



What resources will small business have to compete for talent in the global economic recovery? The biggest advantage is that small (50 to 250 employee organizations) don’t have to deal with the endless standardization and resoundingly-slow procedures that large companies mandate in their hire process. Corporate bureaucracy is real and is a huge disadvantage that doesn’t hinder small firms. The consequences include great candidates that die on vine waiting for feedback on their resume or their interview results. Small companies can make decisions and actually put people to work without a comity reviewing the Meyers-Briggs personality profile of a candidate.


Smaller companies can compete for talent by using niche job boards or targeted recruiting firms. Since it takes time to review large stacks of resumes, the targeted approach reduces the time to compile a short list and professional recruiters actually manage schedules, calls, and meetings for their clients. Smaller firms should start building a pipeline of candidates that they can hire now while their Goliath counterparts are moving at the speed of molasses to hire fresh talent!

Posted in Employment Situation, fortune 100, Growth, hire, interview, rcession, Recovery, recruiting, SBA, Small business, talent | No Comments »

Double Digit Growth…

Sunday, September 13th, 2009

According to the American Staffing Association, the recruiting business has realized double digit growth after each of the past three recessions. Like prior recessions, when this bear market hit, employers focused on cutting cost, workforce reduction, and hire freezes. Surviving companies in the current market have retained only their strongest people. Much of this attrition will prove positive for firms that have used or are using this opportunity to eliminate unproductive employees and trouble makers.

A recovery is imminent. Businesses will thrive again and consumers will consume. Economists have highlighted several indicators that show a slowing rate of decline and many sectors have shown some kind of uptick. This week, the head of the Federal Reserve proclaimed the end of the US recession. If the end of the recession is in sight, what should companies do, right now, to position themselves for a successful rebound?

If historical data is a road-map, we should consider the recession set off in 2001 after September 11th. In that recession, companies moved quick to shed their workforce. Layoffs and hire freezes became common place and organizations value fell in rapid succession. Employers delayed growth initiatives, hesitated to invest in anything, and new start ups were scarce. Some sectors like travel and hospitality thought they would never bounce back.

However, experienced and savvy companies that reviewed their history books, took advantage of the talent surplus before June of 2003, when a recruiting war began and companies were aggressively filling empty seats to compete in the bull market recovery. Similarly, inexperienced and fearful companies failed to act quickly. They overspent, and lost out on the best talent. This is how companies end up with unproductive employees and trouble makers.

Smart and savvy firms will prepare now for post recessionary growth by making an active decision to capture bright, insightful talent before demand returns. It would be wise to develop a large candidate pool in each of the functional areas or labor categories that drive the business of the company. Not just sales people but developers, analysts, technical, management, and marketing professionals. The wider the net cast, the greater the chance of catching the right fish. Professional recruiting firms can develop the pool so that companies only talk to interested and qualified talent. Smart companies won’t behave poorly while shopping for talent. (see my It’s an Employers’ Market blog)

Decisions are being made right now to be smart and savvy or frozen and fearful. Companies that choose to build a pipeline of talent and start shopping for a growing workforce will be miles ahead of the companies that wait and see. Choosing to wait for things to turn around will prove to be a costly mistake. The demand and fight for talent will be expensive. Don’t wait for double digit growth to call your trusted recruiting firm.

Posted in Employers, Employment Situation, Growth, hire, rcession, recruiting, talent | No Comments »

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