SIST-TP ISO/TR 19122:2009

TECHNICAL ISO/TR
REPORT 19122
First edition
2004-11-15
Geographic information/Geomatics —
Qualification and certification of
personnel
Information géographique — Qualification et accréditation du personnel

Reference number
©
ISO 2004
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©  ISO 2004
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ii © ISO 2004 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword. v
Introduction . vi
1 Scope. 1
2 Terms and definitions. 1
3 Abbreviated terms. 3
4 Review of existing qualifications and certification systems. 3
4.1 Introduction . 3
4.2 Questionnaire results . 4
4.3 General comments. 5
5 National case studies . 5
5.1 Introduction . 5
5.2 Australia. 5
5.3 Austria. 5
5.4 Canada . 5
5.5 China . 5
5.6 Finland. 6
5.7 Germany. 6
5.8 Japan. 6
5.9 Korea . 6
5.10 Portugal. 6
5.11 Saudi Arabia . 6
5.12 South Africa. 6
5.13 United Kingdom . 6
5.14 United States . 7
5.15 International case studies. 7
6 Discussion . 7
6.1 Introduction . 7
6.2 Definitions. 8
6.3 National professional organizations. 8
6.4 Current qualifications and certification initiatives .8
6.5 Future directions. 9
7 Recommendations. 10
Annex A (informative) National case studies — Australia . 11
Annex B (informative) National case studies — Austria . 20
Annex C (informative) National case studies — Canada. 26
Annex D (informative) National case studies — Finland. 33
Annex E (informative) National case studies — Germany . 34
Annex F (informative) National case studies — Japan. 44
Annex G (informative) National case studies — Korea . 47
Annex H (informative) National case studies — Portugal . 48
Annex I (informative) National case studies — Saudi Arabia . 51
Annex J (informative) National case studies — South Africa. 60
Annex K (informative) National case studies — United Kingdom. 66
Annex L (informative) National case studies — USA.78
Annex M (informative) International Case Study .86
Bibliography.98

iv © ISO 2004 – All rights reserved

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies
(ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO
technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been
established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and
non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards
adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an
International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.
In exceptional circumstances, when a technical committee has collected data of a different kind from that
which is normally published as an International Standard (“state of the art”, for example), it may decide by a
simple majority vote of its participating members to publish a Technical Report. A Technical Report is entirely
informative in nature and does not have to be reviewed until the data it provides are considered to be no
longer valid or useful.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO/TR 19122 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 211, Geographic information/Geomatics in
collaboration with the following ISO/TC 211 Class A liaison organizations:
 International Federation of Surveyors (FIG)
 International Cartographic Association (ICA)
 International Hydrographic Organization (IHO)
 International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS)
 Open GIS Consortium, Incorporated (OGC)
 World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

Introduction
In 1998, the Canadian delegation made a proposal that the domain of interest for ISO/TC 211 should extend
beyond data standards and encompass issues of certification and qualification of personnel. This proved to be
a radical shift. From the beginning, the work encountered some difficulty. The voting on the original work item
reflected ambiguity on the perceived value of the work. The initial reaction centred on whether there was a
need for a single system of certification and whether it should be implemented through a central body.
After several years of discussion, a questionnaire was developed to obtain some of the background on
different initiatives across the ISO/TC 211 membership. In August 2001, a small working group met to review
the first eight case studies, analyse their content and develop recommendations to ISO/TC 211 through this
Technical Report. Subsequently, five more case studies were added to this Technical Report.
To make further progress on the original Project Team 19122 agenda, there existed a continued need to
expand the membership to represent better the different domains and approaches to certification and
qualification of personnel. Nationally, this means the involvement of experts beyond the data standards arena;
internationally, it means representation of the full range of professions and disciplines embraced by the broad
geographic information/geomatics domain.
Certification in a technical subject domain raises issues for individual practitioners, education and training
institutions, government agencies, professional organizations and the private sector. There remains the need
for a mechanism that permits fair comparisons across jurisdictional boundaries; however the measures of skill
and competency must be flexible and be cognizant of the social and cultural context.
The universal nature of geographic information/geomatics and the recent and ongoing publication of
ISO/TC 211 data standards dictate a common international requirement for a deeper understanding of
different education and training systems, and the available processes for the recognition of professional
qualifications across a broad subject domain. In addition, this domain is changing rapidly as the result of the
changes in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) industry and the integration of GI
Technologies into an ever-expanding range of applications. This rapid rate of change has significant
implications for educational institutions, professional associations as well as standard setting organizations. All
of these must take care to build change management into any standards established. The Project Team
hopes this report will initiate a broad dialog towards greater understanding of national and disciplinary
differences.
vi © ISO 2004 – All rights reserved

TECHNICAL REPORT ISO/TR 19122:2004(E)

Geographic information/Geomatics — Qualification and
certification of personnel
1 Scope
This Technical Report describes and defines the following objectives of the field of Geographic
Information/Geomatics.
 To develop a Type 3 report, which describes a system for the qualification and certification, by a central
independent body, of personnel in the field of Geographic Information/Geomatics.
 To define the boundaries between Geographic Information/ Geomatics and other related disciplines and
professions.
 To specify technologies and tasks pertaining to Geographic Information/Geomatics.
 To establish
...