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New Web site appeals to local geospatial industry

Roger Fillion, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 11, 2006 at midnight

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The Denver area is getting tapped as a trial locale for a federally funded Internet site meant to shine a spotlight on jobs and other opportunities in the geospatial industry here.

The emerging industry collects, interprets and analyzes geographic, time and spatial data. Sectors include remote sensing, global positioning systems and geographic information systems.

Companies involved in the field locally include commercial spy satellite operator DigitalGlobe, software maker Oracle and Hitachi Software Engineering America.

Users of the information include companies such as Xcel Energy — which uses it to help resolve power outages — and local governments such as Denver, which use the information to make sure their maps are accurate.

The new Web portal — dubbed GIWIS (pronounced "gee whiz"), or the Geospatial Industry Workforce Information System — is getting helped off the ground by a $700,000 U.S. Department of Labor grant.

The Geospatial Information & Technology Association and the Association of American Geographers are hosting and operating the site.

The portal will provide detailed information about the industry to job seekers, geospatial-related companies, educators and students in the Denver metropolitan area.

Its formal launch is scheduled for Wednesday at a geospatial industry conference here. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper is scheduled to participate.

"The Front Range (has) one of the most — if not the most — vibrant geospatial industries in the United States," said Bob Samborski, executive director of the Geospatial Information & Technology Association, which is based in Aurora.

"The reason we are doing this in Denver is because we are so well-positioned in the industry."

Samborski said the site could be replicated in other cities if it does well here. "That’s the long-range plan," he said.

Among other things, the site is expected to provide:

• Job postings.

• Job descriptions and salary information.

• Information about local companies involved in the business.

• Geospatial courses offered at local colleges and community colleges.

Samborski said he hopes that information gathered through the site will be used to get a better tab on the companies and jobs in the geospatial industry here.

In September 2004, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao announced a series of investments totaling nearly $6.4 million to address the work force needs of the geospatial technology industry.

Her department identified the sector as one of 14 projected to have a far-reaching impact on the U.S. economy.

fillionr@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2467.