ICTs, geomatics and employability

Abstract

The issues of employment and employability are at the centre of sustainable development. Development that is of benefit to the entire society is one that significantly reduces the rate of unemployment and increases the chances of employability for the active population, especially young graduates. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have not only given a new dimension to these issues by creating new employment opportunities and promoting the creation of small and medium-scale enterprises, but also by bringing about profound changes in working methods, targeted markets and labour mobility. Geomatics, a discipline that has come into being through the combination of developments in computer science, and geography, a discipline in crisis, forms part of new fields that are likely to benefit from the rapid developments in ICTs. In the present document, we give a summary of discussions on ICTs particularly with regard to their contribution to employability. The second part of this document is devoted to geomatics and employability generated by this new technology. First of all, this part deals with the importance of the «human resources» factor in the field of geomatics. It then presents two studies conducted on jobs, the nature and structure of geomatics. Job-creation sectors by geomatics are then dealt with. Lastly, policies adopted enable us to emphasize that geomatics and the geo-information industry are important development factors that create sustainable jobs in the economy.