SIXTY-FIVE Years 10 and 11 students from Bellingen High, Coffs Harbour High, Coffs Harbour Senior College and Maclean High, have spent a day with 20 local, Sydney and Brisbane surveyors.
It was part of a Careers Event at Coffs Harbour Education Campus designed to address a severe shortfall in the profession.
Titled “Surveying Unleashed”, the purpose of the excursion was to introduce students to the surveying profession and show them how maths is applied to projects.
“There is a shortage of new surveyors in NSW, so for Year 10 and 11 students it is the perfect time to consider [it as] a career,” convenor Ian Iredale told News Of The Area.
The students participated in six different practical and interactive exercises to give them a snapshot of what the profession involves and the chance to ask questions
There were three 15-minute presentations: “Surveying – Australia’s Premier Profession Since 1787”; “Using maths to provide the building blocks of logical thought”; and, “Eyes in the Sky: Surveying with Drones”.
A “History of Surveying” exhibit showed the evolution of the discipline and a high-tech laser scanning demonstration brought them up to date with state-of-the-art processes.
A mini-Olympics event involved the students throwing a small bean bag and calculating the distance using the same equipment used by surveyors to validate throw distances at the Olympic Games.
An engaging fast food delivery activity was set up to demonstrate how surveyors used astronomy for navigation in remote locations prior to the introduction of GPS.
Coffs Harbour Senior College Careers Adviser Rachel Fraser said the day was “fantastic”.
“I have had lots of positive feedback from students and staff. We know it will have inspired some students to choose a career in surveying.”
Mr Iredale said that since the event, he has received nine expressions of interest from students seeking work experience and more information.
Visit the Surveying Careers website at surveyingcareers.com.au.
By Andrea FERRARI
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