Trailblazing

Lucy is co-chair of the apprenticeship trailblazer group and is currently talking to technical colleges across the country to encourage them to adopt the apprenticeship, along with the mandated level three Diploma in Geospatial Surveying qualification. She explained why there was a need for it and the barriers to it currently being more widely accepted, such as having more colleges to run it, the right course tutors in place, people with the specialist knowledge – and the actual students to learn.

Commented Lucy: “It was a privilege to share what we have learnt with the wider profession and to have a part in raising standards within the geospatial profession. But we really need survey companies support now, to make this a reality. They need to promote the level three and level six apprenticeship within their businesses and encourage anyone who doesn’t have a geospatial qualification to sign up for them.

Get it right!

“The Get it Right Initiative (GIRI), cites 26 areas of construction work where the most errors occur. One is directly related survey engineering – setting out – but there are 10 areas in total where geospatial errors could have an associated impact. This just demonstrates why we need survey companies to put their surveyors on apprenticeships. Having a comprehensive understanding of the impact of geospatial errors in construction as a whole, would be invaluable.

“We also need our experienced surveyors to share their knowledge of the profession and support the creation of a geospatial career pathway for students, post-16 years, in schools and colleges.”

She added: “As Alison Watson, chief executive at Class of Your Own, explained: when teachers from industry teach their specialism, the resulting knowledge and understanding of students is unparalleled.”

The conference

TSA’s annual conference took place at the British Motor Museum in Warwick on Wednesday 8 November and was attended by 150 members of the land surveying profession. Internationally renowned astronaut, Tim Peake was the keynote speaker and other speakers joining Lucy at the lectern included Simon Navin, EDI Chair for CICES and Polly Hopkins and Caitlyn Tonge from Storm Geomatics showcasing a brilliant initiative with Scouts.

For more information on the Level three, Geospatial Survey Technician Apprenticeship and how you can get involved, contact Lucy Powers at lucy@powersuk.com