The Future of Forestry

When I speak to students and teachers at career fairs, they are often surprised to learn that there are loads of job opportunities in the forest industry right now. Our Job Postings page is consistently full of jobs with companies all over Alberta looking for millwrights, engineers, foresters, truck drivers, equipment operators, labourers… the list goes on.

The point is, we have a lot of jobs to offer, and it seems that not many people know this! So, this month at the Alberta Forest Products Association’s annual general meeting, we held a Workforce Development Panel Session to discuss ways that we can connect job-seekers with these exciting job opportunities.

Four panelists participated in the discussion:

Dr. Stan Blade, Dean, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta

Brian McConkey, Vice President, Human Resources, Millar Western Forest Products

Ann Normand, Work Wild Program Coordinator, Alberta Forest Products Association

Mackenzie McDonald, Apprentice Power Engineer, Hinton Pulp

Moderator: Greg Bass, Deputy Minister of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour

The panelists provided varying perspectives on the labour shortage the forest industry is facing, and the steps we are taking to address this shortage.

One of the highlights of the panel discussion was listening to Mackenzie, a Grade 11 student from Hinton, speak about her experience as an apprentice power engineer. She told us about her summer internship at Hinton Pulp. This opportunity gave her a taste of the working world, and helped to assure her that power engineering is the path she wants to take. Mackenzie’s story is one of many examples of the promising future our workforce holds. 

Here are the important takeaways from the session:

• By the year 2020, we will need up to 9,000 new workers in Alberta’s forest industry. 
• With the baby boomer generation moving into retirement, right now is a great time to learn from these skilled, experienced people before they leave us for the golf course (or wherever it is retired people go).
• An added bonus: forestry companies provide well-paying jobs in beautiful communities near forests, rivers, and mountains. 

This could be you on the weekend, boating on the very peaceful Peace River!

Several forestry companies offer internships and summer jobs for high school and post secondary students. These are great ways to “test out” a job to see if a particular career path is a good fit. 

Contact us to learn about ways you can get your foot in the door of this opportunity-rich industry.