Speech by Pam Warhurst
Welcome everyone to the launch of the forestry skills action plan, which is really a call to action to all forestry organisations to get involved in skills, to take on apprentices, or to train existing staff, to organise work experience or whatever works for you. We need to make sure we have the right workforce to take advantage of all the great market opportunities out there, whether it’s carbon, woodfuel, or other great timber products from furniture to timber frames to cladding.
Skills issues have long been of concern to the forestry sector. It is wonderful to see key players taking the initiative and coming together collaboratively to tackle this issue. In true Big Society style, the sector has shown energy and determination and is leading the way in collaborative working.
The forestry sector plays an vital role in our growing green economy – trees are, after all, the lungs of the world. Wood products such as timber beams and panel boards capture carbon and store it for the longer term, and replacing fossil fuel use with sustainably produced woodfuel can save huge amounts of carbon.
This wonderful green sector looks set to grow:
• Woodfuel is becoming increasingly popular, in part as a result of the Renewable Heat Incentive, recently announced by Government. We expect this will lead to more woodland being managed and more woodland being created – a good thing!
• Carbon markets are also starting to have an impact. For example, Forestry Commission England is about to introduce a Woodland Carbon Code, which allows for voluntary carbon capture through woodland creation in the UK. This is generating a lot of interest already and is just one example of how carbon markets are growing.
• We also think that carbon markets could increase the use of timber products, such as those used in construction, because wood products store carbon over the long term and are therefore likely to become increasingly attractive.
Despite interest in forestry careers having decreased considerably over the past decades, there is good news. We are seeing a resurgence of interest in forestry as a career path:
• When the FCE recruited for nine apprenticeship places last year as part of a pilot, 180 applications were received. We were overwhelmed!
• Anecdotal evidence from the Small Woods Association also shows that more people are entering the coppicing sector because they want a change of life-style.
• And the National School of Forestry reports an increase of 80% in applications this year
However, without apprenticeship and university places, and without opportunities for these people to get ‘on the ground’ work experience, we run the risk of this interest in forestry not being converted into new entrants to the sector’s workforce.
At the same time, despite renewed interested, and despite all this potential for growth, for new green jobs, for new and bigger businesses, forestry is having trouble recruiting the right people. The issue is one of quantity – there just aren’t enough people coming into the sector – and it is more complicated, as not all those in the sector currently have the skills employers need. The whole sector is affected by this problem – we cannot grow without the right workforce.
This is why I am so pleased to see our sector taking the initiative to equip forestry with the skilled workforce this industry needs and deserves. Actions such as:
• Working with equipment suppliers to create training places, including apprenticeship places
• providing relevant training and guidance for contractors
• and increasing the number of apprenticeships and ‘taster sessions’ for practical hands-on experience
…are going to make a real difference.
A big thank you to all those who were involved in creating the skills action plan, from:
• the private sector (Midlands Wood Fuel, Pryor & Rickett Silviculture, UPM Tilhill and ConFor)
• civil society (England Forest Industries Partnership (EFIP), Forest Education Initiative, the Small Woods Association and the National School of Forestry)
• to the public sector (Lantra, the sector skills council, and Forestry Commission England).
A special thank you to EFIP, which is from today taking over the coordination of the Skills Action Plan, including monitoring progress and preparing the ground for a potential Forestry Skills Action Plan 2.0 – involving more players and more actions. I look forward to it!
