Vision Survey - Geospatial Mapping Apprentice

At Vision Survey Ltd , we pride ourselves on giving people opportunities to work with us and start their careers within the surveying industry. The current shortage of qualified surveyors has led us to look at our own internal training and to address our needs as one of the leading survey companies in the UK. Vision Survey has partnered with the University of East London to offer a 5-year Geospatial Mapping Apprentice scheme where a successful apprentice will gain a BSc in a geospatial science subject that is accredited by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors or the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (CICES) .

As we look to go into our second year of our apprenticeship scheme, we thought we would look back at how our first apprentice Rachel Oxby-Parker has found her first year so far.

What led you to apply for an apprenticeship?

After experiencing full time study at Lancaster University, I decided to change to an apprenticeship programme as I felt this would suit my learning needs more appropriately and fit in with my personal life. I wanted to study with context; to understand, see and experience what I was being told in lectures and an apprenticeship allows me to do this. This apprenticeship opened the opportunity to study to level 6 and gain a Bachelor of Science in Surveying and Mapping Sciences whilst gaining 5 years of experience within the industry.

What interests you about geospatial studies?

I have always been interested in geography and have studied it from secondary school through to university. I began to learn elements that are explored in surveying and the geospatial industry, such as GIS (Geographical Information Systems), maps and coordinate systems. What initially drew me to Geospatial Sciences is I appreciated its relevance in everyday life: every individual in the modern world relies on geospatial data of some kind whether they are aware of it or not. Sat-nav, google earth, real estate, floor plans, construction, monitoring landforms all require geospatial data capture and analysis. This apprenticeship teaches you about geospatial data capture with specialised equipment and how to process that data through software before it is sent off to the client. The field is ever expanding, especially as technology continues to grow and being part of that as an apprentice is exciting.

Tell us about your typical week - what kind of work have you been doing and what are you currently involved in?

My typical week would consist of one day at university, usually starting at 9am and ending at 6pm where I attend two lectures, a tutorial and a practical lesson. The rest of my week is split equally between the office and site. When I am on site, my days are spent monitoring movement of infrastructure, taking GPS locations of site boundaries, and laser scanning areas to be processed later in the week. My time in the Crawley office is for processing data gathered from site. Within my working week, I spend around half a day on my university studies writing reports, recording evidence, and completing coursework.

What do you like best about your job?

I enjoy how flexible my schedule is with Vision as I get to work on site, in the office and from home depending on that week’s schedule. Each job is varied, and I go to new locations so there is always something new to see. I am always learning, which is something I wanted in a job. Everyone I meet has different levels of experience and its interesting hearing about this and learning from more experienced surveyors and their methods. There is often new equipment to try as the technology continues to develop and it is fun getting to try out new survey instruments and software.?I also enjoy working within a team, I have learnt a lot from each coworker and have developed my individual skills from that.

Tell us about university life and your tuition fees

The university experience is a great feature of the apprenticeship programme as it is spread out over 5 years and allows me to gain a Level 6 Bachelor of Science Degree. The course is fully funded so there is no student loan debt for the apprentices. The University of East London is one of the few universities in the UK to offer surveying and mapping science as a bachelor’s degree and the staff are very experienced. I also enjoy being at university as I am able to talk to other apprentices on my course about their own experiences and learn from them and their different practices.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start an apprenticeship?

The first thing I would say to somebody considering an apprenticeship would be to research the industry you’re applying for and come up with a plan for when you will study and focus on your university work. Time management is key so you must have time set aside for training and learning. Don’t be afraid to ask questions: a lot of what you learn will be done through doing the task and gaining experience whilst working with experienced surveyors. Lastly, keep a journal; not only is it essential for your apprenticeship as it allows you to demonstrate your learning, but it is also useful to have a record of what you have done and to keep track of methods and certain terminology.

Would you recommend an apprenticeship to other people?

I would definitely recommend an apprenticeship to other people as you can go straight into working and gaining experience whilst getting a degree, meaning you’re already prepared for the industry as opposed to studying a full-time degree first. An apprenticeship allows you to action what you learn which I find particularly enjoyable as the knowledge stays with me and is solidified by practice. It is also a big plus that the apprenticeship is fully paid for as I do not have to think about paying back tuition loans in the future.