Work has begun on a new round of new projects in the forestry and timber industry. Qualifications and skills standards will be reviewed and developed to reflect the skills required for entry level roles, high-level roles and remote operations.
There will be opportunities to feedback throughout the duration of each project. You will be notified when drafts are available for comment through this newsletter. Please feel free to pass on this information to colleagues. You are also welcome to contact us or ForestWorks about the projects.
Individual project webpages have recently been published for each project. Click the links below for detailed information on project scopes and timelines.
Entry Level Forestry Skills Project
Attracting and training new entrants to forestry is a high priority, as strong demand for timber and wood products continues.
School students should be able to access school-based VET training or apprenticeships that provide a career path into a range of forestry roles, especially in the regional centres where this work is based.
In response to industry feedback, this project will review and update current entry level qualifications so that they better support the career journey of learners and reflect the hands-on skills required.
For more information, visit the project page.
High-Level Forestry Skills Project
The process to grow sustainable forests for timber, wood and fibre products requires a team of professional foresters and forest workers. Skills to supervise, plan and manage production forests and commercial plantations are essential to this process.
While skills for this work are in demand in Australia, there is a shortage of people qualified and available to perform the work. In recent years, some of these skills have shifted, as foresters have adopted new digital and spatial technologies.
This project will review and update skills standards and qualifications for high level forestry jobs so that current work practices and skills needs are reflected in updated qualifications, skill sets and units.
For more information, visit the project page.
Remote Forestry Operations Project
Work in forestry often involves working in small teams, in remote locations that are not easily accessible to others. Workers need to be skilled in maintaining safe work practices in these conditions. Higher level roles also require skills for actively shaping and promoting a safety mindset.
Skills are needed to promote the wellbeing of others and monitor safety compliance. Higher level roles can also require skills for actively shaping and promoting a safety mindset.
As part of this project skills standards will be developed to support safety culture and practices in remote forest operations.
For more information, visit the project page.
