IPLSA SURVEYOR AND MAPPING TECHNICIAN TRAINING PROGRAM
ReJena “Jeni” Lyon, President/CEO of Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick, Inc. (HLR) and Ryan Roth, Policy Specialist with the Illinois Professional Land Surveyors Association (IPLSA) sit down to discuss the Surveyor and Mapping Technician Training Program, a 2-year apprenticeship program in partnership with Parkland College in Champaign, IL which helps introduce the profession and train the next generation of survey technicians.
Illinois is just one of many states that has seen a decrease in the number of survey technicians entering the industry, but the Illinois Professional Land Surveyors Association, in partnership with Parkland College and participating employers, hope to bring positive change with the Surveyor and Mapping Technician Training Program.
The two-year apprenticeship program consists of in-person labs, online coursework, and on-the-job training as participants work full-time for a sponsoring employer to prepare for a career in surveying. Once accepted into the program, training is paid for by the apprentice’s sponsor employer. Apprentices have the option of continuing their education and may opt to convert their training to college credit toward a four-year degree in land surveying. To successfully complete the program, apprentices must pass the Certified Survey Technician Level I or Level II exams. Apprentices are then guaranteed a job with their employer after they have successfully completed the program.
HLR looks forward to the continued success of the program and its participation as a dedicated sponsor employer.
I just feel like this is such a great program. It’s so important to our industry to be able to provide an alternative and I really hope that other surveying companies in Illinois will participate in this program. I want to see it thrive. I want there to be more applicants for the program than they have room for so that the program can continue on, and I want to keep supporting it – hiring new apprentices every year to keep pushing them through the program and I hope that other surveyors in Illinois will do the same. — Jeni Lyon, President/CEO, Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick, Inc. (HLR)
For more information on the Surveyor and Mapping Technician Program, please visit www.iplsa.org.