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GEOSPATIAL ANALYST | SEAN BRAGG
GEOSPATIAL ANALYST
writer PETER WHITE // photo BROGAN CAMPBELL
SEAN BRAGG is proud to work for Ngāi Tahu Holdings as a Geospatial Analyst working in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) field. “At the core of GIS are maps and location-based data and information, and understanding the world in a spatial manner and how things are linked together through space,” says Sean. “The GIS part is a technical software skill, so you are getting your IT skills up as well. Working for Ngāi Tahu, we are exposed to quite a broad range of work. We do a lot of cultural mapping – like the mapping of place names, in particular – that has been a really big project for us over the last five to six years. We have released our own Ngāi Tahu atlas called Kā Huru Manu, which has about 1400 Ngāi Tahu place names spread across the South Island. “It has been recognised by Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa New Zealand Geographic Board as an authoritative source of original Māori place names. Once made official by the Board, Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand can then start using a lot of our names on their maps and charts, and things like that.” Sean also provides GIS support to the iwi’s commercial entities such as Ngāi Tahu Farming and Ngāi Tahu Property. He particularly enjoys the opportunity to do work for the many papatipu rūnanga/marae dotted around Te Waipounamu (South Island). The 26-year-old of Ngāi Tahu descent is Bluff born-and-bred. He went to Verdon College in Invercargill and took Chemistry, Biology, Calculus, Religious Education and Physical Education in Year 13. Rather than going to university, he went straight into an internship at Ngāi Tahu Holdings. “It was more learning on-the-job. My introduction to GIS was through the internship for two years in Christchurch. The idea of the internship was to spend three or four months at a time within the different teams at Ngāi Tahu. One of the teams that I worked for was the GIS team. “I got to the end of my internship and picked up a fixed-term contract doing GIS work and have been doing it ever since.” The technical skills of GIS can be applied in many different fields. Sean says it is up to you to build those relationships and find out what is going on in the business and how you think GIS might be able to help. “A lot of the time, people don’t often come to us so for a lot of the high-value projects, we have to reach out to people and learn a bit about what their job is and what they are trying to change or implement. Through our experience we try and apply GIS to help out.” Sean says for school leavers interested in the GIS field, an interest in the environment and geography in general, plus having good computer skills, are important. “GIS skills are really in demand at the moment and there is a shortage of people working in the industry, particularly for councils, crown agencies and private businesses as well.”
SEAN BRAGG
KEY FACTS
■ SEAN BRAGG WORKS FOR NGĀI TAHU HOLDINGS AS A GEOSPATIAL ANALYST.
HE STARTED AN INTERNSHIP WITH NGĀI TAHU HOLDINGS AFTER LEAVING SCHOOL. ■ IN YEAR 13, HE STUDIED CH EMISTRY, BIOLOGY, CALCULUS, RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION. ■ SEAN SAYS THAT WORKERS WITH GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM SKILLS
ARE VERY MUCH IN DEMAND, AS THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF PEOPLE WORKING IN
THIS AREA. For more information on
Toitū Te Whenua Land Information
New Zealand, visit www.linz.govt.nz For more information on studying geographic information science (GIS) with various tertiary providers, visit www.linz.govt.nz/studying-gis
