Beyond Borders and Boundaries – The Survey School in Northern Ireland

Published: 04 Sep 2025

The Survey School recently partnered with the Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland (OSNI) to deliver a tailored training programme at their Craigavon facility.

A 5-day course, blending theory with practical exercises, was led by seasoned tutor David Bennett, himself a former Ordnance Survey Cartographic Surveyor of some 40 years’ experience. 

The week aimed to refresh and enhance the skills of OSNI’s surveying professionals and share best practice.

Participants’ positive feedback reported a significant improvement in their confidence and technical competencies, their teamwork and problem-solving.

“It was beneficial completing exercises with OSNI Surveyors with a mix of experience, as we benefited from shared ideas and there were some techniques that weren’t already known to me.”

“It was a good building block for someone like me, reasonably new to surveying.  Dave was a gentleman! He picked up on all levels of understanding within the room and provided support around individual needs… I enjoyed it and I genuinely felt it helped my understanding.”

OSNI Topographical Field Surveyor, Philip Bell: The balance of theory in the classroom and practical exercises outdoors allowed for constructive debate and learning between the students at various levels of experience. Also, the topics covered are enabling our staff to fulfil the specialist land surveying competencies of the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (CICES) for working towards their professional membership.

The Survey School is working to foster further collaborations between the school and government agencies, with 2 training courses being delivered for Natural Resources Wales this autumn.

Survey School Manager, Alan Mansell: “Initiatives like this not only bolster individual’s expertise but strengthen the surveying sector as a whole. The Survey School’s training offer includes everything from foundational courses for trainees to more advanced teaching for experienced professionals – and we are always happy to talk about delivering bespoke programmes”.

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