The Premium Debate: Subscribers have their say about the forestry labour shortage

Jobs in silviculture and forestry are up for grabs as demand continues to outstrip supply across the sector. Photo / NZME

Jobs in silviculture and forestry are up for grabs as demand continues to outstrip supply across the sector. A timber mill boss in Te Puke who has about 180 employees desperately needs another 30 fulltime workers and is back on the tools in the meantime. On Friday the sawmill could not operate due to the dire shortage while productivity had nosedived by 25 per cent, a scenario that was affecting businesses throughout New Zealand. This was just one dilemma the forestry industry was facing amid a 'perfect storm' with slower log vessel loading times at the Port of Tauranga and concerns over the Covid lockdown policy in China - the sector's biggest export market.

Read the full story: forestry desperate for tree planters, timber mills need workers

Have your say by going to bayofplentytimes.co.nz or dailypost.co.nz and becoming a Premium subscriber.

One element rarely mentioned is the stress this crisis places on managers and supervisors. These people get scant consideration from this government, but it is they who have to deal with the stress caused by not having enough workers to meet commitments. I can tell you the level of burnout is at an all-time high in NZ and with borders opening outward it is only going to get worse.
Todd M

The mill boss can't get 30 workers so we import 300 workers while in excess of 100,000 get paid to sit at home to do nothing. What happened to all the government-funded training schemes that were going to train workers for these jobs, so where are the workers and where has the money gone that was promised at the Red Stag mill in Rotorua 18 months ago?
David S

With the highest number of people on jobseeker fudging the actual unemployment figures, there is no excuse for vacancies like this. Any Govt benefit should be paid on only negative drug tests also.
Jason G

Are these businesses offering a good living wage? If they are and still can't get workers, why do I see so many able people sitting around all day doing stuff all?
Steve H

It's simple. This government is making it more attractive not to work with increasing benefits, handouts and no accountability or expectations.
Employers will need to pay significantly more than Winz to get people off their bums, and hope the entitlement of many isn't more trouble than it's worth.
Andrew O

I have to say, it's a sad indictment on this country and its so-called culture to read Mahi Rakau Forest management's health, safety, training and recruitment co-ordinator say ... "finding people who were drug free and would show up was hard". What have we become?
Richard S

Despite very good money to be made, many urban Kiwis will not take a job if it involves getting dirty or getting a sweat up. Unfortunately, we have become reliant on imports to do much of this sort of work. All this at the same time as benefits paid to working-age people is at all-time high. I sympathise with the challenges the forestry industry faces re recruitment. It is the same in many other industries too, e.g. farming, fishing, construction and transport. Is this another failure of our declining education sector?
Trev F