Case for change

Project Plan

Opportunities for stakeholder input

Stakeholder input and feedback is appreciated and welcomed throughout the duration of this project. Stakeholder contribution is essential, so that units reflect real work experience and training meets the needs and requirements of the industry.

Technical Advisory Committee

A Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) will be established to provide technical input to the review and development of units. The TAC may include technical industry experts, industry associations, employee associations, regulators and training providers. The support that the project needs from the TAC includes:

• Provide input with respect to the project on areas of industry skill development requirements, job roles and key tasks and activities
• Provide technical expertise that will inform the content of units of competency
• Review and provide feedback to the draft materials
• Provide input to clarify potential differing views on industry requirements
• Share project materials with other experts for their input.

If you are interested and able to volunteer your time to this project, please contact [email protected]

Units of competency to be revised or developed

Development

Next steps

The draft units of competency and qualifications will be made available on this webpage for broad stakeholder consultation and feedback from February 2020 (under the ‘Drafts Available’ menu above).

Thank you to those stakeholders that have been involved and provided feedback and advice so far.

The project will work with industry stakeholders over the next two months to review and develop the units of competency.

Please feel free to register your interest for consultation opportunities by contacting Dr Georgiana Daian at [email protected]. Please also follow projects updates by following the newsletter subscription link at the bottom of this page.

Consultation and development activities so far

The following skills development themes have emerged from consultations and site visits undertaken in August and September 2019.

• A range of digital technologies is being implemented across the forest management and harvesting sector to collect and manage field data from forest operations. Examples include the use of mobile applications to access digital maps and other forestry field data and the collection of forestry data using unmanned aerial vehicles [UAV]. Currently, most organisations use vendor or in-house training programs to skill their harvesting operators.
• Several harvesting contractors in Victoria have adopted winch assist systems in their operations to harvest trees on slopes of up to 60 degrees safely, without manual felling. Operating harvesters with winch assist system is a skill that will also be required in Queensland and Tasmania as the application of technology emerges in these states.
• While not a new technology, in-field wood chipping is conducted with highly specialised machines in plantation forests for pulp and paper production. The in-field wood chipping operations are prevalent in the Green Triangle region, northern Tasmania and Western Australia. Employers have identified that the FWP Training Package does not suitably provide for this niche, but very specialised, job role.
• Work processes for cable logging operations and the manual harvest of trees using a chainsaw in commercial harvesting operations have not changed over the last years. However, the volume of trees harvested manually has changed, from 90% five years ago to 1% now, due to mechanisation and safety concerns.
• Chainsaw equipment and relevant FWP units of competency are also used, in large number, to fell trees as part of arboriculture, agriculture, conservation and land management, local government, emergency services and other government agency operations. The missing component from the training packages is a competency standard that provides skills to safely carry out chainsaw tree cutting operations while working at height.
• The units of competency for applying environmental care principles and procedures in forest operations need to be consolidated and reinforced to facilitate skills outcomes sought by employers of both native and plantation forest management organisations.
• Since this project also reviews the units of competency for transporting forestry logs/products using trucks, it was determined opportune to discuss and incorporate relevant skills requirements that are outlined in the industry’s Draft Log Haulage Code.

Proposed new units

Based on the consultation outcomes above, industry stakeholders have proposed 12 new units of competency to support the current and emerging skill needs.

Geospatial and mobile technology

1. FWPXXXXXX Access, capture and communicate forestry field data using mobile applications

2. FWPXXXXXX Read and interpret digital forest operation plan maps

3. FWPXXXXXX Create digital forest operational maps

4. FWPXXXXXX Plan collection of forestry data using unmanned aerial vehicle [UAV]

5. FWPXXXXXX Assure quality of forestry data collected by unmanned aerial vehicle [UAV]

Harvesting optimisation (cutting instruction) files

6. FWPXXXXX Create cutting instruction files for harvesters

7. FWPXXXXXX Process harvester head optimisation data

In-field wood chipping

8. FWPXXXXXX Operate integrated and split flail and wood chipper with crane

9. FWPXXXXXX Operate split flail and wood chipper fed by excavator with log grapple

Cable logging

10. FWPXXXXXX Operate harvester with winch assist system

11. FWPXXXXXX Use mechanised equipment for forestry site preparation

Chainsaw operations (arboriculture)

12. FWPXXXXXX Use chainsaw above ground

Drafts Available

Feedback was sought on the following updates and developments:

• Five draft new units of competency that were developed to support skills development in digital technology, winch-assisted harvesting, mechanised forestry site preparation on steep slopes, and use of a chainsaw off the ground. 
• Twenty four units that were revised to support skills development in cable logging, environmental care (forestry operations), transport of logs, tree felling /chainsaw operations, and wood chipping. 
• Four units of competency from the FWP Forest and Wood Products Training Package that are proposed for deletion. 

During this time, feedback was collected via the feedback hub, email, and a consultation webinar. The drafts, including any comments made on the feedback hub, are still available for viewing below.

Feedback will inform the work on the final drafts which are expected to be available for industry validation in March 2020. A summary of the feedback and how it was addressed in the final drafts will also be available.

Proposed New Units

Five new units of competency have been developed to support the current and emerging skill needs in relation to a range of digital and mechanised forest management and harvesting technologies and processes for forest management and harvesting operations. The draft new units are available to view via the links below.

Revised Units

Twenty-four existing units of competency have been revised to meet current skill needs and compliance with the standards for training packages. Common changes across the units include updates to the workplace health and safety requirements and foundation skills, revised application statements to clarify the intent of the unit and other minor edits for improving the clarity of statements. To read about the changes that have been applied to these units, please download the Summary of Changes Document linked below.

Download Summary of Changes Document document

Units Proposed for Deletion

Feedback was also sought on the need to maintain or delete four units of competency from the FWP Forest and Wood Products Training Package.

These units have had very low or no student enrolments over the last five years. However, initial stakeholder consultations suggested that the job functions described in these units are relevant to the industry.

Other project notes

• 2 units of competency have not been revised as they are core units in four FWP qualifications. According to the Training Package policies, the core units can only be reviewed as part of the qualification review. The units are:
  • FWPCOR2204 Follow fire prevention procedures
  • FWPCOR3203 Evaluate fire potential and prevention
• The unit FWPHAR3231 Operate yarder was initially not on the project scope, but has been reviewed due to feedback received from industry stakeholders and relevance to the skill areas covered by the project.
• Feedback from industry has also helped to identify:
  • A range of skills gaps in the Certificate IV in Forest Operationsin relation to digital technology involving the development of digital forest operational maps and cutting instructions files for forestry harvesters, management and analysis of harvesting optimisation data and collection of forestry data using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). While these skill areas are on the project scope, the identified skill gaps are linked to higher-level job roles and qualifications than the approved project deliverables.
  • The need for rationalisation of three overarching environmental care units for forestry operations, noting that two of these units are Core units in the Certificate II and III for forest management and harvesting. According to the Training Package policies, the core units can only be reviewed as part of the qualification review.

As a result, this input will be followed up and addressed in a potential future project that will involve the review of relevant qualifications.

Summary of consultation to date

The draft new and revised units have been drafted in consultation with Subject Matter Experts. The draft new and revised units have been prepared in consultation with Subject Matter Experts. The consultations included face to face discussions with people working directly in the forestry and arboriculture industry and site visits to observe these jobs in the workplace. We would like to thank all people who took part in these activities.

Validation

The final draft units will shortly progress through to the Finalisation stage of the project which includes quality assurance of the documents and review and feedback from the State/Territory Training Authorities. They will then be forwarded to the Forest Management and Harvesting Industry Reference Committee (IRC) for consideration and sign off, before being submitted to the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) and State/Territory Ministers to consider and approve for publication on training.gov.au.

Key Changes

Prior to Validation the units were revised to address skills needs for a range of tasks required within forest, harvesting and industry related operations. Draft new units were developed to support skills development in digital technology and other emerging harvesting methods.

Summary of consultation to date

Thank you to those stakeholders who provided feedback on the drafts that were made available from 23 January to 1 March 2020, under the ‘Drafts Available’ stage. During this time, feedback was collected via the online feedback hub, webinars, and via phone call and email.

A description of how feedback has been considered and applied in these final drafts can be downloaded below. Please click the ‘Download Summary of Feedback, Responses and Actions’ button.

Proposed New Units

Revised Units

Units Proposed for Deletion

• Three units, which were originally for deletion, are proposed for being maintained in the FWP Training Package. The feedback received suggests a potential need for these units in the bushfire context or, one unit, in the specialised Sandalwood industry in WA
• One unit, FWPFGM2210 Implement animal pest control procedures, is proposed for deletion and to be replaced with AHCPMG309 Apply pest animal control techniques, a unit of similar content and outcomes from other training packages to reduce duplication across training packages

Other project notes

• Two units of competency have not been revised as they are core units in four FWP qualifications. According to the Training Package policies, the core units can only be reviewed as part of the qualification review. The units are:
  • FWPCOR2204 Follow fire prevention procedures
  • FWPCOR3203 Evaluate fire potential and prevention
• The unit FWPHAR3231 Operate yarder was initially not on the project scope, but has been reviewed due to feedback received from industry stakeholders and relevance to the skill areas covered by the project.
• Feedback from industry has also helped to identify:
  • A range of skills gaps in the Certificate IV in Forest Operations in relation to digital technology involving the development of digital forest operational maps and cutting instructions files for forestry harvesters, management and analysis of harvesting optimisation data and collection of forestry data using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). While these skill areas are on the project scope, the identified skill gaps are linked to higher-level job roles and qualifications than the approved project deliverables.
  • The need for rationalisation of three overarching environmental care units for forestry operations, noting that two of these units are Core units in the Certificate II and III for forest management and harvesting. According to the Training Package policies, the core units can only be reviewed as part of the qualification review.

As a result, this input will be followed up and addressed in a potential future project that will involve the review of relevant qualifications.