ENGL 2116

Skill-Gap Analysis
Company Analysis
Description for Job Posting
(GIS Planning Intern)

As an intern for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Planning Department I would be one of

fifty-seven individuals responsible for dealing with zoning administration,
sustainable development, economic growth, overseeing appeals, managing the
historic district and lastly, improving neighborhoods and business corridors for the
betterment of our city. The planning department is part of the local government
chain of command, and reports directly to both our local citizens and as well as our
politicians. The qualifications for my role include both technical ability and the
aptitude to apply that ability meaningfully. Specifically, the role demands familiarity
with the ESRI software suite (ArcGIS, ArcMap and ArcGIS online,) Microsoft excel,
expertise with cartographic design and an understanding of how the planning
process works.
The planning departments statement mission is: to provide integrated
planning services that promote sustainable growth and improve our communitys
quality of life. Although the department is small, the staff serves more than
800,000 residents of our city with this mission. Many of the staff members hold citydriving permits and often will have to go off-site to visit specific areas in order to
survey them. Being comfortable with such a responsibility is a requirement for the
role.
Since they are an essential part of the city operations the planning
department takes up an entire floor in the main government center building. This is
designed specifically so they are able to communicate with other branches of our
government with ease. The Mecklenburg City Government fosters this strategy in
order to create an efficient work relationship.

Gap Analysis Table (Fill in the chart below)

Job Requirement
Geodatabase
management

Skills
Familiarity in
working with
location based data

SQL

Programming in SQL

Excel

Managing data
analysis

Knowledge of
City Government
Structure

Memorizing certain
role relationships

Interest
High-level of
interest in
obtaining this skill
set
Skill seems useful
for many jobs in
my field, high
interest in learning
Proficient level
seems a little
excessive for my
role, since it is
easy to google the
functions I need
Necessary to learn
for this job, but not
useful in many
others

Background
Very modest
experience
creating
geodatabases
No experience

Moderate level of
experience

Little knowledge

Addressing the Gaps

(In your groups, brainstorm together to come up with specific ways you can address these
gaps to strengthen your letter of application. Write your solutions below.)