Opening Pathways to Employment through Nontraditional Geospatial Applications in Technical Education (OPEN-GATE)

通过技术教育中的非传统地理空间应用程序打开就业途径(OPEN-GATE)是阿肯色大学系统中的四所社区学院和阿肯色大学费耶特维尔分校的合作项目，将使当地行业和政府能够培养具有特定工作地理空间技能的劳动力队伍。区域调查显示，雇主对具有基于位置的服务和其他地理空间技术方面的技能以及其特定行业技能的雇员非常感兴趣。Open-Gate将通过在四所两年制院校增加相关和特定于行业的地理空间应用程序，在目标业务部门和新兴行业发展地理空间技术技能。该项目将利用由美国国家科学基金会ATE资助的中心Geotech Center开发的教育材料，以及阿肯色大学已经开发的在线内容。传统上，受过良好地理空间教育的人的主要就业市场一直是大城市。这些技能与特定行业培训的精选整合将有助于提高农村腹地企业和政府的效率、竞争力和可持续性。多个领域对地理空间技术人员的需求不断增长表明，需要一支理解和利用空间思维和分析的劳动力，同时，地理空间技术的快速发展和融入日常生活需要一个具有空间素养的社区。开放门户项目的目标是在全州范围内更多地采用地理空间技术，并扩大接受地理空间技术教育和培训的机会，以支持行业和政府，包括交通、石油和天然气、地方政府等。通过共同努力，UA系统合作伙伴将正式达成协议，为共享学位、技术证书和/或熟练证书建立一个系统范围的结构，以清楚地阐明多种教育途径。每个研究项目的雇主咨询委员会，由行业代表和当地雇主组成，将为教育课程的发展提供建议，以确保其满足行业需求，并充当行业和教育工作者之间的联络人。一年一度的行业-教育合作伙伴会议将促进行业、教师和学生之间的持续互动，而与中学教师和学生的接触将培养对地理空间技术的早期认识，塑造该地区未来的劳动力和经济发展。通过加强该区域教育机构的能力，该项目将把教育和培训机会扩大到该州目前未得到服务或服务不足的地区。

Opening Pathways to Employment through Nontraditional Geospatial Applications in Technical Education (OPEN-GATE) is a collaboration among four community colleges in the University of Arkansas system and the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville that will enable the development of a workforce with job-specific geospatial skills for local industry and government. Regional surveys have shown a strong interest among employers for employees with skills in location-based services and other geospatial technologies as well as their industry-specific skills. OPEN-GATE will develop geospatial technology skill sets in targeted business sectors and emerging industries by augmenting existing programs of study at the four two-year institutions with relevant and industry-specific geospatial applications. The project will leverage educational materials developed by the GeoTech Center, an NSF ATE-funded center, as well as online content already developed by the University of Arkansas. Traditionally, the primary job market for people with strong geospatial educations has been in large cities. The selected integration of these skills with industry-specific training will help increase efficiency, competitiveness, and sustainability of businesses and government in the rural heartland.The growing demand for geospatial technicians across multiple domains illustrates the need for a workforce which understands and utilizes spatial thinking and analysis, at the same time that the rapid evolution and incorporation of geospatial technology into daily life demands a spatially literate community. The goals of the OPEN-GATE project are to increase adoption of geospatial technologies statewide and to expand access to education and training in geospatial technologies in support of industry and government, including transportation, oil and gas, local government, and others. Working together, the UA system partners will formalize agreements to develop a system-wide structure for shared degrees, technical certificates, and/or certificates of proficiency to clearly articulate multiple educational pathways. Employer Advisory Boards for each program of study, made up of industry representatives and local employers, will advise the development of educational curricula to insure that it meets industry needs and act as liaisons between industry and educators. Annual industry-education partnership conferences will facilitate ongoing interaction between industry, faculty, and students, while outreach to secondary school teachers and students will foster early awareness of geospatial technologies, shaping the future workforce and economic development of the region. By enhancing the capacity of educational institutions in the region, the project will expand opportunities for education and training to regions of the state that are currently unserved or underserved.