The BC government is partnering with the BC Forest Safety Council (BCFSC) and the Council of Forest Industries (COFI) on two new Forest Workforce projects.
The BCFSC will focus on ensuring that competency standards and evaluations for forestry workers are up to par with the Forest Workforce Initiative Recruitment Competency Standards Project.
Meanwhile COFI will be looking to revitalize the forestry workforce.
“The forest sector is really looking at a demographic shift,” says CEO Susan Yurkovich. “Over the next 10 years or so, we expect to see about 50% of our skilled workforce retiring. So we’ll be looking to hire probably about 2,700 employees per year every year for the next 10 years.”
The Forest Workforce Recruitment Initiative Project aims to help potential workers navigate the process of joining the industry.
“What we want to do is look at all the existing career information and see, if you’re interested in pursuing the sector, are there any gaps and can we fill those gaps. We’re looking at creating a searchable database where people can find what training programs exist.”
Yurkovich says ensuring that people know about training programs and bursaries as well as the opportunities that exist in the forestry industry will make it easier for those considering a career in forestry to get the right skills to get a job.
“We’re really trying to make it easier for people to navigate the opportunities in our sector and to make their way into good employment.”
The provincial government has invested a total of $530,000 into the two projects, which are expected to wrap up in January.