Whether the general public is aware of it or not, the geospatial industry is as important as it's ever been. Nearly everyone in the United States and around the world owns a smartphone at this point, and much of what we do on these devices requires location data with some precision. Even more importantly, major engineering projects and other similar work require even more precise location and other surveying data, as do important work around environmental monitoring. Looking to the near future, innovations like autonomous vehicles, precision agriculture, and autonomous machinery for construction all require extensive, accurate, and constantly updated geospatial data.
Unfortunately, at the same time as all of this geospatially informed technology is coming to the forefront, organizations within this industry are struggling to maintain their workforce. For surveying specifically, there are more workers expected to retire than enter the industry over the next five years. It’s a somewhat distressing trend considering that, in an ideal world, the sector would be adding more workers, never mind simply breaking even in the labor force. Similar issues are facing other corners of the geospatial industry, including GIS, geomatics, and more.
As we recently discussed with representatives from Oregon State University, it’s a complex problem that requires buy-in from stakeholders at multiple levels of the discussion. Children need to be made aware of this profession as a potential route for their future during their school years, something that is not happening much now. Higher education institutions need to have robust programs that not only offer degrees geared to this industry, though even this is lacking right now in the United States, but also stay on the cutting-edge and prepare students for what they will be entering into for the workforce.
There is also the matter of employers attracting the right employees into their organization and retaining said employees. The article linked above focused more on those first two prongs, but this final prong is just as important. Even industries beyond the traditional geospatial fields – think urban planning, environmental science, logistics – are in need of professionals who are well-versed in geospatial technologies, widening the list of organizations vying for the same limited pool of talent.
At Geo Week 2025 this past February, a panel entitled Where is Our Geospatial Workforce tackled many of these issues, with a panel full of people who are well-versed in these issues. Next month, on April 16 from 1:00-2:00 PM Eastern Time, Geo Week News will be hosting a continuation of sorts of this discussion in a webinar entitled Mapping the Future: Strategies for Attracting and Developing Geospatial Talent.
Moderated by Geo Week News' Matt Collins and featuring insights from Shawana Johnson from Global Marketing Insights, Inc., Aaron Addison from the World Geospatial Industry Council, Karen Schuckman from the ASPRS, and Jessica Touchard from Geosearch, this webinar will be a must-watch for those who are dealing with problems relating to the shrinking geospatial workforce. What are best practices for those looking to attract the top talent to their firms? Why is the industry having these issues? How can you retain your best talent? All of these questions and more will be answered in the hour-long conversation.
The webinar is free to attend and comes with an on-demand recording following the live conversation, so be sure to reserve your spot by following the link below.
