Forest leader

Forest leader Erin Leahy is learning at a fast rate about the industry. Picture / Amos Chapple

Name: Erin Leahy
Age: 22
Job title: Forest leader
Working hours: 40 hours a week.
Employer: Carter Holt Harvey Forests, other forestry companies
Qualifications needed: On the job experience, science or forestry degrees or diplomas
Career prospects: Business analyst, research, a range of jobs within the forest sector

Q: What do you do?

A: A forest leader looks after the forest crews. We do the planning side, working out what's coming up for the guys to do, what work they'll do.

I negotiate pay rates with the contractor, do their instructions and maps, pay them, and go out every day to check on the quality of the work. In the office I work with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and SAP, a financial package, spreadsheets, Excel and other computer programs.

You need good computer skills. Most mornings I spend time planning and touching base with the others in the team. There's 15 of us - some have thinning crews, some pruning - and you need to communicate so we all get the bigger picture.

Q: Why did you choose this job?

A: I liked the 60:40 mix of outdoor to indoor work. I'm not always in the office and can jump in the ute and do the outdoor stuff.

Q: Why is the job important?

A: I work on the establishment side of the forest industry, which is important because if you don't plant trees there won't be anything to harvest.

Forestry is one of our biggest industries. It's not a glamour industry but people are doing really good things and earning big money - people just don't know about it.

Q: What's the best thing about the job?

A: Freedom. You can structure the job to suit yourself. I like to be in the office in the morning and in the afternoon when you're feeling a bit ho-hum you can get out. The flexibility is good. I'm learning so many things, too. I'm only six months out of university so you're putting your knowledge to work and learning at a fast rate about the industry. I travel quite a lot, maybe 300km a day, which is more tiring than a downside. I'm getting to see parts of the country - backblocks - you wouldn't usually see. I'm based out of Tokoroa and I've seen some great rock faces and hills as well as the pines. There are some forests in real out-of-the-way places. We had a team field day recently and went with an archeologist to look at pa sites in Kinleith Forest. We've gone up in helicopters to clear regeneration on a rocky hill. It's one of the perks to get the chopper rides and see the views.

Q: What are your strengths?

A: Communication. You deal with people from all walks of life. It's important to be open-minded and keep your eyes and ears open. There's a lot of people who have been in the job longer than you that you can learn from.

We have a good mix of ages and there's townies and country folk. It's a good atmosphere. I run and play hockey and you do need to have a good level of fitness.

Q: Where would you like to be in five years?

A: Overseas. I want to get some experience, give myself a good base and get a name before I do the travel thing. I'd like to do this for two or three years. After that I'd like to have a go at other aspects of being a forest leader. There's a lot of scope.

Q: What's your job hunting advice?

A: Forest leaders need to like the outdoors. You need to have good communication skills. Teamwork is important. If you don't work to the same goals things can go haywire.

Carter Holt Harvey has a recruitment website where you can add your CV. It also recruits at universities. You can look in the paper or make the direct approach.

It's good working for a big corporate because there are lots of job opportunities and chances to learn.

It's also good being exposed to a big range of jobs.