Service leavers encouraged to consider forestry careers
Forestry and Land Scotland last week (3-5 December) hosted a visit to Newton Nursery, near Elgin, from ex-servicemen as part of a Confederation of Forest Industries (Confor) recruitment drive.
Open to service leavers, the event highlighted forestry as a credible and attractive career pathway that offers outdoor, purposeful work, a wide range of roles, and long-term opportunities across the UK.
Dr Kate Palmer, ConFor Technical and Industry Support Manager, said;
“Forestry offers service leavers a realistic and rewarding career path that builds on their existing skills, while giving them the opportunity to work outdoors on projects that really matter – from sustainable timber production to climate resilience.
“By connecting service leavers with the forestry sector, we’re helping address a growing skills gap while opening the door to long-term, meaningful employment.”
The forestry sector is facing a well-recognised skills and workforce shortage. Many of the practical, technical and professional roles available in modern forestry operations align well with the experience, discipline and problem-solving skills that many service leavers already have.
Simone Forbes, FLS senior HR Manager responsible for Talent and Resourcing, said;
“Forestry offers a range of careers and is certainly a career path that appeals to people who are looking fora meaningful career path. Many forestry jobs - from Foresters, Wildlife Rangers to logistical roles – would showcase the transferable skills that service leavers can bring.
“It was great to host this event and help illustrate that forestry is much more than most people usually think it is, with strong links to land management, sustainability and to national priorities such as timber security, nature recovery and climate resilience.
“Confor hit on a great idea in reaching out to service leavers - there was certainly a lot of interest from those taking part - and it’s certainly something that we would be interested in doing again.”
Notes to editors
- Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) manages forests and land owned by Scottish Ministers in a way that supports and enables economically sustainable forestry; conserves and enhances the environment; delivers benefits for people and nature; and supports Scottish Ministers in their stewardship of Scotland's national forests and land.
- Confor is a membership organisation for sustainable forestry and wood-using businesses that provides a single, powerful voice to ensure our industries thrive long into the future.
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