Mapping the Global Geospatial Talent Landscape: Aims, Activities, and Acquisition of Skills by YouthMappers Participants

The geospatial sector has consistently sought a workforce with both technical expertise and complementary soft skills, and aspirational students tend to complement their formal education with extra experiences to gain competitive advantages and additional competencies. Through the lens of a workforce survey of YouthMappers, a long-running, global, student-driven open mapping network, insights can be broadly gained into how university students around the world are seeking out such experiences, conducting activities, and developing technical and soft skills beyond formal coursework in geospatial fields. Using survey data from 2019 and 2024, we investigate students’ career intentions, the activities and opportunities available through local chapter-led participation, and the self-reported acquisition of workforce competencies. Respondents believe project-based, collaborative, and humanitarian-oriented experiences will enhance employability, although differences exist across regions in terms of access to training, tools, and activities. Findings underscore the need for higher education and industry to build and reinforce external partnerships that integrate student-centered experiential, globally connected learning alongside curricula and internships, providing pathways that complement formal education and training, especially in underserved regions. Our study begins to map the future outlines of a global geospatial talent landscape.