Forestry can offer flexible career opportunities within the greater land use sector

​We currently plant out 300 to 400ha in trees every year. Within the vision set out by the UK’s Committee on Climate Change, this figure could/should increase to 4,000ha. But whether it’s 400 or 4,000ha, there is one very practical impediment to making any of this happen.

And it’s this: there is now a fast-developing shortage in the number of suitably qualified people with the skills needed to establish, manage and maintain existing and new woodland plantations. For those, wishing to follow a career in forestry management at degree level, it’s currently a case of looking at university options in England, Wales and Scotland.

However, the scope for organisations such as the College of Agriculture Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) to provide forestry development courses for young people that complement other land use skills is immense.

Adding to the attraction of forestry and woodland development is their seasonal nature. Ground preparation, planting and plantation management-related activities take place at times of the year when all other field and outdoor work on farms has finished for the year. So the skills required to make all of this happen would add to the opportunities for young people to secure year-round opportunities within the farming and land use sectors.

Forestry is not the only sector to find itself facing up to the challenge of a ‘run down workforce’. Dairy is a case in point. But, in the case of the milk industry, there is an expectation that robotics can make up for this shortfall. Unfortunately, for those in the forestry and woodland sectors, robots cannot plant and care

for young trees. But this shouldn’t be seen as a challenge. Rather it is an opportunity for a new generation of young people to get involved in this sector.