ArcGIS Pro for Geospatial Mapping and Analysis Training Course

Course overview

Teams responsible for assets, land, environment, infrastructure, public services and market territories need maps that can withstand operational scrutiny. ArcGIS Pro enables analysts to combine authoritative vector data, tabular records, imagery and field observations into spatial evidence, but inconsistent coordinate systems, weak data models, unvalidated joins and poorly chosen analysis tools can produce misleading results. This course equips participants to turn raw geographic data into reliable maps, repeatable analysis workflows and decision-ready outputs.

Participants work through the ArcGIS Pro interface, projects, geodatabases, map layers, symbology, labelling, editing and layout production. They learn to prepare and validate data; manage coordinate systems; perform attribute and spatial queries; join tables; geocode locations; create buffers, overlays and proximity analyses; use raster and imagery tools; and document geoprocessing workflows. The course also covers ModelBuilder for automating repeatable tasks and publishing selected outputs to ArcGIS Online for controlled sharing.

Instruction is centred on a realistic planning and service-delivery case study. Each day combines short demonstrations with guided practical work in ArcGIS Pro, followed by independent analysis tasks using supplied datasets. By the end of the week, participants produce a structured ArcGIS Pro project containing a file geodatabase, cleaned and documented layers, analytical outputs, a thematic map layout, a ModelBuilder workflow and a web-sharing plan. This is a practical evidence pack they can use as a template for workplace projects.

The course suits professionals who need to create, analyse or quality-assure geographic information rather than simply view maps. It is particularly relevant to analysts moving from ArcGIS Online, ArcMap, spreadsheets or CAD-based mapping into a controlled desktop GIS workflow.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Build an ArcGIS Pro project with organised maps, catalog connections, geodatabases and layer files
• Import, inspect and correct vector, tabular and raster datasets using coordinate-system and metadata checks
• Create and edit feature classes with domains, subtypes, topology-aware rules and attribute validation
• Apply symbology, classification, labelling and layout design to produce decision-ready thematic maps
• Perform attribute queries, spatial selections, joins, geocoding and summarisation to identify geographic patterns
• Run buffer, overlay, proximity and suitability analyses using ArcGIS Pro geoprocessing tools
• Process imagery and raster data using clipping, raster functions, reclassification and terrain-derived surfaces
• Automate a repeatable analysis workflow in ModelBuilder and prepare map outputs for ArcGIS Online sharing

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• GIS Analysts — who need dependable desktop workflows for mapping, data preparation and spatial analysis
• Spatial Data Analysts — who combine location data with operational records to support planning decisions
• Environmental Officers — who assess sites, habitats, constraints and monitoring data across geographic areas
• Urban and Transport Planners — who evaluate accessibility, service coverage, land use and development options
• Asset and Utilities Analysts — who maintain network, property or infrastructure records and need location-based insight
• Remote Sensing and Earth Observation Assistants — who need to integrate imagery-derived information with vector GIS data

Requirements and prerequisites

This is a foundation-to-intermediate course and is suitable for people new to ArcGIS Pro. Participants should be comfortable using Windows, organising files and folders, working with spreadsheets, and interpreting simple tables and charts. Familiarity with basic geographic concepts such as coordinates, layers, scale, attributes and map projections is helpful but not essential; these are introduced and reinforced during the course. No previous ArcGIS Pro, coding, SQL, CAD or remote-sensing experience is required. Complete beginners should expect a practical, paced introduction alongside progressively more analytical exercises.

Training methodology

The instructor demonstrates each ArcGIS Pro workflow against a live project, then participants repeat it using supplied vector, tabular and imagery datasets. Practical labs cover data inspection, editing, cartographic design, geoprocessing, raster analysis and ModelBuilder. Small-group discussions test analytical choices such as buffer distances, classification methods and suitability criteria against a realistic planning scenario. Daily review points address common errors and quality checks. On day five, participants assemble their own end-to-end project and identify one workplace process they can standardise or automate after the course.

Course outline

Day 1: ArcGIS Pro projects, maps and spatial data foundations

• ArcGIS Pro interface, ribbons, panes and project structure
• Catalog connections, folders, file geodatabases and project packages
• Map layers, feature classes, tables and raster dataset types
• Coordinate systems, geographic transformations and projection checks
• Adding shapefiles, CSV files, Excel tables and web data services
• Layer properties, metadata inspection and data-source repair
• Basic navigation, bookmarks, measurement and map scale control

Workshop: Participants create a structured ArcGIS Pro project, connect to supplied data sources and assemble a correctly projected base map for a service-planning area.

Day 2: Data preparation, editing and cartographic communication

• Attribute-table management, field types, aliases and calculated fields
• Feature editing, snapping, templates and edit-session quality control
• Domains, subtypes and contingent attribute values for controlled data entry
• Data joins, relates and one-to-many relationship classes
• Definition queries, selections and SQL expression building
• Graduated symbols, unique values, normalization and classification methods
• Labels, annotation, map layouts, legends, scale bars and export settings

Workshop: Participants clean a site dataset, join operational records, apply an appropriate classification scheme and produce an A3 thematic map layout.

Day 3: Vector spatial analysis for operational decisions

• Attribute selection, spatial selection and selection inversion methods
• Geocoding address records and reviewing unmatched locations
• Buffer analysis with fixed, variable and multiple-ring distances
• Clip, intersect, union, erase and spatial-join overlay operations
• Near, generate-near-table and proximity analysis outputs
• Summarize Within and point-density methods for service-demand patterns
• Suitability modelling logic, criteria weighting and assumption documentation

Workshop: Participants assess candidate facility locations by geocoding demand points, measuring coverage and applying overlay-based exclusion and suitability criteria.

Day 4: Raster, imagery and terrain analysis

• Raster properties, cell size, extent, resampling and processing environments
• Imagery display, band combinations and stretch techniques
• Raster functions for clipping, masking and on-the-fly visualisation
• Reclassification and raster calculator expressions
• Digital elevation models, hillshade, slope, aspect and contour generation
• Zonal statistics and extraction of raster values to features
• Integrating imagery-derived layers with vector constraints and map outputs

Workshop: Participants derive terrain and land-cover evidence from raster data and combine it with vector constraints to refine the candidate-site assessment.

Day 5: Automation, sharing and workplace application

• Geoprocessing history, tool parameters and reproducibility practices
• ModelBuilder interface, variables, connectors and iterators
• Building a reusable buffer-overlay-reporting model
• Model validation, intermediate data management and error handling
• Map packages, layer packages and project packaging for handover
• ArcGIS Online web maps, hosted layers and controlled sharing options
• Metadata, analytical limitations and quality-assurance checklists

Workshop: Participants complete and present an ArcGIS Pro evidence pack containing a ModelBuilder workflow, final map layout, documented assumptions and ArcGIS Online sharing plan.

Tools & standards covered

ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Spatial Analyst, ArcGIS Image Analyst

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions