Skills Shortage Audit
The forest and forest products industry is confronting significant challenges in terms of finding an adequate number of potential employees with the skills required to meet the industry's expanding and changing needs.
To assist in addressing this need a forest industry skills audit has been funded by the
Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) as part of their Strategic
Intervention Programme.
The National Association of Forest Industries (NAFI), in conjunction with the Australian
Plantation Products and Paper Industry Council (A3P), completed the research which
identified key drivers of skills shortages and made recommendations to industry, governments and education providers on how to best combat the growing skills shortages faced by the industry.
The forest industry’s low profile as a potential career path, along with the industry’s remote location, an ageing workforce and resource security have been identified as factors behind skills shortages,” Mr Hansard added.
Commenting on the release A3P CEO Mr Neil Fisher added, “Our industry has changed significantly over the past three decades with a substantial increase in plantation wood production and the introduction of more efficient mechanised and computerised processing systems.”
“While the skills shortage issue is not confined to the wood and paper industry, our ability to attract employees with industry specific skills for example wood machinists, foresters, saw doctors, forest workers, harvest operators and electrical engineers is a significant challenge for our industry.
“Our industry contributes over $18 billion to the nation’s economy and has significant potential to invest and expand, however the skills shortages are a major impediment to the delivery of this investment,” said Mr Fisher.
Report identifies measures to address forest industry skills shortages
Results of research into the skills shortages faced by the wood and paper products industry have been released in
The National Association of Forest Industries (NAFI), in conjunction with the Australian Plantation Products and Paper Industry Council (A3P), completed the research which identified key drivers of skills shortages and made recommendations to industry, government and education providers on how to best combat the growing skills shortages faced by the industry.
NAFI’s acting CEO, Allan Hansard, said the completion of the audit is an important step towards solving the skills problems facing the industry.
“The skills audit has identified the major barriers to sourcing adequate numbers of potential employees for the wood and paper industry,” said Mr Hansard.
“The forest industry’s low profile as a potential career path, along with the industry’s remote location, an ageing workforce and resource security have been identified as factors behind skills shortages,” Mr Hansard added.
Commenting on the release A3P CEO Mr Neil Fisher added, “Our industry has changed significantly over the past three decades with a substantial increase in plantation wood production and the introduction of more efficient mechanised and computerised processing systems.”
“While the skills shortage issue is not confined to the wood and paper industry, our ability to attract employees with industry specific skills for example wood machinists, foresters, saw doctors, forest workers, harvest operators and electrical engineers is a significant challenge for our industry.
“Our industry contributes over $18 billion to the nation’s economy and has significant potential to invest and expand, however the skills shortages are a major impediment to the delivery of this investment,” said Mr Fisher.
A backgrounder (attached) and the report can be viewed at: www.nafi.com.au/skills and www.a3p.asn.au