The Geospatial Council of Australia (GCA) has made a submission into the Australian Government’s review of ANZSCO Classifications, calling for greater recognition of the geospatial professions.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is conducting public consultation for the second round of the comprehensive review of ANZSCO.
Geospatial Council CEO Tony Wheeler says Australia’s geospatial sector is experiencing a national workforce skills gap at a critical point in time when industry demand for location data is at a historic high.
“Planning to address workforce skills needs is being held up because the representation of surveying and spatial occupations in ANZSCO does not accurately represent contemporary growth and diversity in the geospatial fields,” Mr Wheeler said.
“Today, geospatial has specialised job titles and descriptions well beyond the five categories of surveying and hydrography which are mostly distributed throughout other professional fields, creating a disparate representation of one of Australia’s most rapidly advancing sectors.
“This is hampering all aspects of workforce development which means Australia will be unable to keep pace with national and global standards, technologies and meet demand for geospatial services.”
He said the Geospatial Council recommends structural changes to ANZSCO to enable greater transparency around the Geospatial professions, support workforce development and bring one of Australia’s most significant, digital and technologically advanced sectors into alignment with the rest of the economy.
In its submission, the Geospatial Council recommends that Geospatial be elevated to the status of a Sub-Major Group and Minor Group within the ANZSCO classification.
“There is a growing demand for geospatial services across virtually every government, commercial and industrial sector of the economy including Defence, emergency response, infrastructure, mining and resources, health, agriculture, environment, building and construction,” Mr Wheeler said.
“Some of our most advanced and innovative technologies are underpinned by geospatial services including new forms of surveying, remote sensing, digital twins, agritech, environmental management, advanced imagery, and advanced technologies for satellite and Defence communications.
“The government’s review of ANZSCO is the prime opportunity to bring the reality of geospatial professions today into the right structure for the benefit of Australians for decades to come.”
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