Applying the Department of Labor’s Geospatial Technology Competency Model (GTCM) to FOSS4G Courses and Curriculum.

The newly minted Department of Labor Geospatial Technology Competency Model (GTCM) is now the de-facto standard for defining GIS Technician workers skills and competencies in the US.  The standard was developed by industry experts, such as Kass Green and Jan Van Sickle, and is not tied to any proprietary vendor software, such as Esri.  The GeoTech Center has applied the GTCM to college GIS course curriculum and created a series of vendor-neutral course outlines for model GIS courses (and certificate) curriculum, based on this national standard.  This paper will demonstrate using the GTCM to create a model introductory course for FOSS4G software, such as QGIS, GRASS GIS and Mapserver.  Faculty and industry trainers can use this course outline and assessment tools to either build new FOSS4G curriculum aligned with the GTCM, or assess their current courses.  By assessing existing curriculum, you can identify areas of weaknesses or missing material, based on the GTCM, to strengthen your curriculum to industry-accepted standards.   Faculty will experience the GTCM assessment tools, review an overview of the GTCM, as well as hear the success story of Central New Mexico’s adaptation of the GTCM to their GIS curriculum and FOSS4G course.