Where are we heading ? : the crisis in surveying education and a changing profession
Mahoney, Rob et al.
It has been clear for some time, at least from the evidence presented at a number of FIG events, that the surveying profession is heading for a global crisis. The profession is changing and the number of competencies in which surveyors are actively involved is over 200. Different parts of the world report a range of major problems, including low student numbers, closure of surveying courses, an aging teaching profession, inadequate job opportunities in some locations with an insufficient supply of graduates to fill the vacancies in others. There are challenges of new technologies within both education content and delivery and, most damaging of all, the risks attached to non-specialist data uses. Overarching these is the lack of any clear international recognition of a 21st century definition of the profession of surveyorss (as defined by FIG) and thus a failure to promote, at a global level, the full range of surveying skills to both our clients base and to the broader public, thereby constricting both the supply of and demand for surveyors. Indeed, there is evidence that some surveying skills which are recognized and valued in some countries are not considered in the same light in others. This is a major issue which underpins who we are and what we do. It is not an issue for Commission 2 alone it is an issue for the whole of FIG our future is at stake, as the market in which surveyors operate finds itself under dynamic change. The challenge is for the profession to respond or be left behind, as others take advantage of the opportunities we ignore. This paper identifies and discusses these issues, and challenges the whole of FIG to contribute to developing a range of global solutions to ensure the survival and future of our profession.
Event: XXX FIG Working Week and General Assembly : Strategic Integration of Surveying Services
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