Get Kids into Survey (GKiS) has been working to educate young people about the survey world since 2017. They develop online resources for school and career day events. Children worldwide have already learned so much about geospatial work through learning materials. Many geospatial and geodetic professionals recognize the urgency in initiatives like these. GKiS summarizes it as follows: “The challenge: an industry-wide recruitment crisis that puts the future of geo survey in jeopardy. The solution: forge an innovative path that leads young people towards an exciting survey career. The impact: a whole generation equipped to tackle the challenges. Think about urban and industrial development, human ecological impact, and global conservation.”
Recruitment crisis
There has been a recruitment problem within the geospatial industry for decades. This has resulted in a greying workforce. To secure the future of the geospatial industry, GKiS wishes to unite the geospatial community to inspire a new generation of surveyors. They see how geospatial professionals take great pride in their work. They want them to share their enthusiasm with young people. Hull states: “It’s a scary thought, but if we don’t educate children about surveying now, the industry will die out, resulting in devastating consequences. After all, without survey, we wouldn’t be able to detect bombs, study planets, find diamonds, monitor wildlife, build bridges, measure earthquakes and volcanoes, carry out CSI forensics, design golf courses, create video games – the list goes on! Education really is our passport to the future.”
Secure the future of this vital industry
Co-founders Elaine and Elly Ball and their team of dedicated professionals are setting out to resolve the recruitment problem and secure the future of this vital industry. What began in 2017 as a modest campaign has grown exponentially. GKiS is now a permanent company. Its ever-expanding mission is to educate, excite and inspire the next generation of survey professionals. They have welcomed over 75 Brand Ambassadors also supporting this mission. Elaine and Elly Ball got their inspiration from their father, industry legend Steve Ball. Many of us know him as a hydrographer and mine surveyor. His daughters set out to change the perception of survey by teaching budding geospatial experts that there is more to the profession than simply measuring distance and angles of land and natural features.
Free posters and a comic book
When asked about their most recent initiatives, Geospatial Marketeer Erin Hull says: “Our main methods are through our famous free geospatial posters, and our recently launched GeoSquad Comic Book. We are currently finalizing our last two posters to work on the content and lesson plans behind the posters. We link these all together: posters, lesson plans, etcetera. So, it’s an essential element.” She continues: “We want to educate children in exactly what surveying is and the many exciting career options available within the geospatial industry. We aim to help parents and teachers to understand what surveying is and to be able to talk about it with their children.”
Sponsorships for free access by everyone
GKiS planned a total of twenty posters for surveyors, parents and kids to collect. They have shipped over 50k posters to date and continue to do so. As each poster requires at least ten companies to sponsor, in order to keep they posters free so they can be accessed by everyone. Sponsors receive their very own cartoon mascot, their logo on the poster and a box of the finished posters. Erin Hull enthuses: “If your company would like to join the awesome line-up of GKiS sponsors, including WGIC Members Leica Geosystems, RIEGL, Topcon and Trimble, to only name a few! Please take a look at our ‘Get Involved’ page on our website or email Erin at [email protected] for more information.”