Heritage

Heritage is mostly seen as something which we inherit. We inherit our heritage from our family. Heritage is influenced by our education and religious upbringing. Heritage is passed on within our culture. Heritage is celebrated as a nation.

We all inherit and adopt our own heritage, and it is unique to each of us.

But at the same time, heritage is something which we can create. In the present day, we may not see it, but in 20, 40 or 100 years, the heritage we create today will be plain to see.

NPM Geomatics has a rich heritage in the Eastern Cape. With roots going back to 1905, and banking with Standard Bank from day one, we can look back and see how we have been influenced by the past.

But we have also created a heritage for many, many surveyors and town planners active in the South African economy and beyond.

Starting in the late 1990s, and driven by a belief in training and equipping young people, former director and professional land surveyor, Mike Medcalf, initiated a student training program at NPM. Initially only 1 student per year. Then we were able to take on 2 students. In some years, NPM had the capacity to take on as many as 4 students per year.

Some of them stayed at NPM for a few years, others moved on to broaden their experiences. Since 1998, more than 60 young surveyors and town planners have completed their In-Service-Training or Professional Articles with NPM Geomatics.

Today these?young people are employed throughout the country and beyond. In private survey or planning firms; in Government Departments such as the Surveyor General; in Municipalities and Metros; in SoEs such as SANRAL and ESKOM. Some of them have left the profession and ventured into business.

The training program which NPM created provides for comprehensive and thorough exposure to all aspects of the particular disciplines. From field work, health and safety requirements, office processing, CAD, reporting and preparing client ready data.

NPM Geomatics celebrates the rich heritage we have inherited. But more so, we celebrate the heritage which we have been able to pass on to so many graduates. It is our hope that the heritage of training and growth which NPM Geomatics has created, will continue to ripple through South Africa for many years to come.?