Growth in geospatial jobs & need for training

The market for geospatial technologies is growing at about 35% a year, studies suggest, and the geospatial industry as a whole is expected to add at least 330,000 jobs between 2008 and 2018, claims recent article in Directions Magazine.

Summary: In this article, Becky Shumate, GISP, discusses the definition of the GIS profession, as well as its potential growth. She cites the Geospatial Workforce Development Center's work, as well as the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration's recently concluded study of the field's potential growth.

Of note: the Dept. of Labor's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) tagged Geospatial Technologies as a "High Growth Industry" in March of 2010. They estimated that the geospatial technology profession will experience a growth of over 330,000 geospatial professionals between 2008 and 2018. This growth figure would bring the number of geospatial professionals to just under 1.2 million and is supported by similar estimates by other geospatial organizations. As quoted by the Geospatial Information & Technology Association (GITA), "uses for geospatial technology are so widespread and diverse, the market is growing at an annual rate of almost 35 percent, with the commercial subsection of the market expanding at the rate of 100 percent each year. "

Here is the report: http://www.careeronestop.org/competencymodel/pyramid.aspx?GEO=Y