My name is Shaun Yapp and I studied the Geospatial Foundation Skills Course at Fife College. What first attracted me to the course was the careers aspect. There’s a lot of talk about how the geospatial industry in Scotland is expanding, and that was something I wanted to be part of as I continue developing my career.
If I had to boil geospatial down to its basics, I’d say it’s about working with location data and understanding how that data relates to the real world.
As part of the course, I worked with Sustrans on their mapping projects across Scotland. My role involved researching their projects, mapping them using software, and then presenting the results as finalized digital, web, and print maps.
The course itself was very informative, and I would highly recommend it. What I enjoyed most was working with the software — particularly QGIS and ArcGIS. They’re fascinating tools, and getting to use them hands-on gave me great experience.
I now feel far more confident about moving into the industry than I did before starting the course. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking to develop new skills and broaden their understanding of the geospatial field.