Forestry's focus on education

By CHRIS DANIELS forestry writer

Education in the forestry industry is reducing staff turnover, providing a career path and improving safety.

Training is undergoing a renaissance after what some in the industry say are years of neglect.

In Rotorua last week, Prime Minister Helen Clark helped to present qualifications as part of the third annual national awards for Forest Industries Training.

The number of employees in the sector is expected to double to 60,000 by 2025.

Forestry is New Zealand's second-largest export earner, with international sales of $3.6 billion. And most agree that it is not just the quantity, but the quality, of New Zealand's forestry workers that needs to be improved.

John Blakey, chief executive of Forest Industries Training, says the sector's support of this area has increased dramatically in the past few years and he can now see a real connection between business success and those companies that have a real training strategy.

In the past five years, the number of people involved in forestry training has doubled, says Blakey. The industry often suffers recruitment problems and staff turnover is also an issue.

But the new training opportunities being offered are helping to keep people in the job.

"The training has provided a career pathway now. They can see if they hang in there, then they are not going to stay doing the same thing.

"The training delivers two key things. It delivers the industry the skills that it needs to compete, be productive and improve quality, and it also has a big impact on safety."

Safety is a big component of every training programme and qualification in forestry. No one can be considered competent unless he or she works safely.

But training is not just for the bright-eyed 18-year-olds, says Blakey. It is also helping the older generation to stay enthusiastic.

"Think of a 50-year-old - if you put them through extensive training, you've got another 10 or 15 years of good working life out of them. If you're going to turn your back on them, then the economy is going to be in trouble. We must train people from schools and people at 30, 40 and 50.

"You would be surprised how many older people for the first time in their life have gained a qualification. They are often quite demanding in terms of maths, technical skills and engineering."

Blakey says there is a real need to let school-leavers realise the vast variety of opportunities that forestry offers.

"Whatever job you want to do, whether it's an accountant or a lawyer, a chemist, an environmental engineer or mechanical engineer, marketer or whatever, all these opportunities exist in forestry.

"It's national and it's global - there are good prospects."

But when it comes to getting qualifications recognised by way of a thicker pay packet, there are differences of opinion, says Blakey.

"Some employers do actually acknowledge the achievement in their contract and pay, other employers say it's not a question of getting the qualifications - it's a question of demonstrating that the additional qualification is bringing increased benefits, and they'll pay on results."

One of the more enthusiastic proponents of industry training is Grant Carruthers, director and part-owner of Westco Lagan, a South Island wood-processing company with 110 employees.

Training in the industry has come full circle since he began in the field in the 1970s, he says.

"There was a real commitment to training and education at the start, then we entered the period of the mid-1980s, when the Forestry Corporation was developed.

"There was no longer the Forest Service and there was a move away from training and education for a period of five to 10 years."

Carruthers says that since 1992, Governments have supported industry training.

Although it is not difficult to hire young people for low-skilled jobs, "it probably isn't the sexiest industry in the world" for young graduates.