Spatial Skills Shortage To Get A Boost

Media Statement

Monday, February 11, 2013

Spatial Skills Shortage To Get A Boost

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) and the Spatial Industries Business Association (SIBA) today welcomed the addition of the occupation ‘Other Spatial Scientist’ to the Government’s Long Term Skills Shortage List (LTSSL) – used to help identify industries that suffer from a shortage of New Zealand workers.

“Research commissioned through Victoria University into the capability of the spatial industry in New Zealand has confirmed a skills shortage in this area,” says New Zealand Geospatial Office Principal Analyst Geoff O’Malley.

“This is just one step towards addressing that. In the longer term we’ll work with schools to raise awareness of spatial sciences as a career option, and with universities to increase the tertiary level qualifications available in this area.

“This addition to the LTSSL reflects a collaborative effort between government, academia and industry. We all support the growth of the New Zealand spatial industry and, together, have put forward a strong and successful application.”

SIBA Geospatial Capability Lead Scott Campbell says New Zealand business is increasingly recognising the value of spatial information – but that, for the foreseeable future, demand outweighs the supply of skilled spatial scientists.

“This addition will help employers overcome the shortage of suitably qualified and experienced geospatial industry workers, and will help support the growth of the industry.

“By ensuring we attract skilled and talented spatial professionals to New Zealand, we can meet the demands of this growing industry. It also creates opportunities for our up and coming spatial scientists to work alongside international experts,” he says.

Ends

Additional Information

• Other Spatial Scientist’ is described under the Australia and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) as someone who ‘acquires, integrates, analyses, interprets, presents, manages and distributes information about locations in space and time, and develops related equipment, software and services’. The LTSSL qualification and experience requirements for ‘Other Spatial Scientist’ are ‘Bachelor degree specialising in Geography of Computer Science and a minimum of two years of relevant experience’.

• The application to place ‘Other Spatial Scientist’ on LTSSL was supported by: LINZ; SIBA; the Association of Local Government Information Managers; the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI); GEOInt New Zealand; the University of Canterbury; and Landcare Research. The addition was approved by immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse.

• The move also aligns New Zealand with Australia, which already includes ‘Other Spatial Scientist’ on its Skilled Occupation List.

• The addition of ‘Other Spatial Scientist’ to the LTSSL is complemented by education-related initiatives to help promote the New Zealand geospatial industry and develop skilled workers. These include: the postgraduate diploma and Masters in GIS programmes offered collaboratively by Canterbury University, Victoria University, and the Auckland University of Technology; geospatial virtual field trips for schools in conjunction with the LEARNZ Ministry of Education-supported project; spatial career profiles and study options on the Destination Spatial website supported by SIBA and SSSI; Eagle Technology’s GIS in School resources.

• Information for employers and prospective employees related to an occupation on the LTSSL is available from the Immigration New Zealand website.

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