My name is Noah Jagtman, and I graduated with a BSc in Coastal and Marine Management from Van Hall Larenstein. During my studies, I regularly worked with GIS, and for my thesis, I conducted scientific research on the effects of manure type and tillage as part of the Ecolana project in Holwerd.
After graduation, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in GIS, but I wasn’t yet sure exactly which direction to take. Through the traineeship program at Geo-ICT Training Center in the Netherlands, I had the opportunity to further expand my knowledge while gaining experience at various organizations.
I took several advanced GIS courses, and thanks to my background, I was able to immediately begin the MSc GIS – UNIGIS program at VU University Amsterdam. At the same time, I started working as a GIS specialist. My first assignment was with the DGGroep. This was followed by assignments at Essent and the municipality of Amstelveen, among others, where I worked as a BOR administrator.
Through these various assignments, I not only learned more and more about GIS and geodata, but I also discovered what kind of work and work environment suited me best. In addition, I became an instructor at Geo-ICT, where I was able to pass on the knowledge I had gained to new trainees and course participants.
My last secondment assignment was with the municipality of Huizen. The collaboration there was so successful for both sides that I was hired permanently and continued as a mid-level GIS specialist.
After 3.5 years at Geo-ICT, I’ve gone from someone who barely understood the Geo-ICT field to an independent GIS professional.
For me, the traineeship was therefore much more than just my first job. It gave me the opportunity to get to know different organizations and roles, to continue my studies, and to discover, step by step, where my future within Geo-ICT lies.
