“We hear from many people that forestry isn’t a challenging or rewarding career,” says Sharon Glover, executive director of the ABCFP. “We’ve got over 5,300 well-paid members who will tell you differently.”
The ABCFP’s salary survey, which was conducted in December 2006, showed
that Registered Forest Technologists earned an average salary of $56,985 while Registered Professional Foresters had an average salary of $73,018.
Recently, there has been a lot of talk in the media about how forestry is a ‘sunset’ industry and how forestry-dependent towns are on an economical downturn; however, there is huge potential for professional forestry jobs such as forest managers or forest health technologists. “Mills may be closing or reducing staff due to technological improvements, but there are still many, many jobs available for forest professionals,” says Glover.
The ABCFP’s salary survey also highlighted a growing problem in the forest sector – the
workforce is aging and there are fewer and fewer young people coming in. The ABCFP survey shows that 62% of respondents had more than 13 years of experience. Only eight percent of
respondents had less than five years of experience.
“These statistics show us that we are heading for an extended period of labour shortages,” says Glover. “In the next five to ten years, we are going to see a large number of retirements and
very few new entrants into the workforce. This situation will create a wonderful opportunity for those young people who become registered forest professionals now.”
While the outlook is good for people who do choose a career as a forest professional, the ABCFP is concerned that not enough people will pursue forestry. “We are worried that the health of BC’s forests is at stake if there are not enough trained professionals to look after them,” says Glover.
Anyone interested in a career as a forest professional should visit the ABCFP’s website and click on the ‘Entering the Profession’ tab.
The Association of BC Forest Professionals (est. 1947) ensures that British Columbia’s
forests are in good hands. It registers and regulates professional foresters and forest
technologists under authority of the Foresters Act. The association has more than 5,300
members, including registered professional foresters, registered forest technologists and those
working towards registration in BC. It is the largest professional forestry association in Canada
and the first to include forest technologists.