The Planning Authority has been awarded €1.4 million in EU funds for two projects which will provide training and scholarship opportunities both at an organisational and national level.

The projects, SpatialTrain Scholarship Scheme and PA+, will both be financed by the European Social Fund.

The SpatialTrain Scholarship Scheme project aims at offering scholarships in the field of geospatial technology. A total of 175 scholarships will be offered at MQF levels 4 (certificates), level 5 (diploma), level 6 (degree) and level 7 (Masters).

The project will ensure the enhancement of human capacity in the spatial themes across all governmental entities. The courses should commence by October 2018.

The SpatialTrain Scholarship Scheme stems from another much larger EU-funded project which was awarded to the Planning Authority last year. The €7 million SIntegraM project is developing and implementing a national spatial data infrastructure. The infrastructure and range of systems, equipment, analytical and dissemination tools will be geared to enable inter-governmental data dissemination, knowledge gain and an integrated approach towards information foresight.

The second ESF project, PA+, will provide training aimed at the specific requirements of the Planning Authority. This will ensure that the organisation’s human resource capacity and the capacity of all statutory consultees, including local councils, have the necessary know-how and skills.