This group bring together education, private industry, government, non-profits, and tribes for conversation and connection. The monthly meeting opportunities provide a space for those working in the forest sector to discuss specific topics, learn from each other, and identify ways to address workforce challenges.
Meetings are the third Wednesday of the month from 10am-12pm PT.
Clicking the register button below will add you to future Forest Sector Workforce Development Group communications with meeting details. You only need to register once. Contact Pathways Program Coordinator, Erin Feeney with any questions, to suggest a topic, or to be removed from group communications.
November 19 ForestryWorks
Forestry Works is a collaborative effort by the Forest Workforce Training Institute and other partners within the forest industry to develop a pipeline of qualified workers for the logging and wood product manufacturing industries. They educate students, parents, and teachers about careers and job opportunities in the forest industry, and provide interested students with resources to help them along their career path. Their mission is to provide the next generation with the resources, skills and guidance needed to join the forest and wood products manufacturing workforce. By partnering with education and private business within the forest industry, ForestryWorks cultivates careers, builds communities and stimulates local economies.
December 17 Interactive Idaho Forest Industry Web Map
To capture the geographic extent and professional opportunities related to Idaho’s forest products industry, the University of Idaho Extension and College of Natural Resources has launched an interactive Idaho forest industry web map.
The Forest Sector Workforce Development Working Group was created in January 2024 out of the Mapping the Course conference to provide a space for forestry stakeholders to discuss and address the multifarious labor challenges facing every area of the sector.
Past meetings
October 2025 – Big Brothers Big Sisters of SW WA High School Forestry Mentorship Program
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Washington has served Grays Harbor, Pacific, Lewis, Thurston, and Mason counties for four decades. Recently, they have begun developing career workforce programming, including their first program focused on forestry.
In their high school mentorship program, mentors (forest sector professionals from the region), aka Bigs, and high school mentees, aka Littles, meet once a month at Grays Harbor College for two hours. Together they explore forestry topics, such as forest health and wildfire, discuss forestry and natural resources careers, and meet potential employers.
This month’s meeting will provide a deeper look into this one-of-a-kind program for our region, how/why it was created, and what this year’s iteration has in store, as well as opportunities for the forest sector to support and be involved with the program.
July 2025 – Results of the Oregon Forestry Workforce Study
The Oregon Forest Operations and Management Workforce Study was prepared by ECOnorthwest for the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) under the direction of the Forestry Workforce Steering Committee (FWSC), a subcommittee of the Oregon Workforce and Talent Development Board (WTDB). In 2024, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 1552, which requires the HECC to conduct a forestry workforce study “to assist its commission in understanding and addressing challenges in Oregon’s forestry workforce.” During the course of the study, the focus evolved to cover forest operations and management in Oregon—from the woods to the gates of the mills—rather than on the broader forestry sector that includes forest and wood products manufacturing.
June 2025 – The Role of Forestry Camps
This meeting will take a look at summer youth forestry camps with a deep dive on Camp Canopy, a long-standing forestry camp in Ohio. Current and former camp directors will join to discuss the history of the program, how it’s changed over the years, the impact it’s had on campers, and lessons for others interested in starting this kind of forestry programming in the PNW.
About Camp Canopy – A 75 year old week-long forestry camp held at Ohio FFA’s Camp Muskingum in Carrollton, OH (70 miles west of Pittsburgh) that has hosted more than 10,000 campers since its inception. Open to incoming freshmen through graduating seniors (up to 19 years of age), Camp Canopy is the perfect mix of forestry, wildlife and adventure. It combines educational sessions with instructors from Ohio’s top natural resource organizations and industry experts from the state’s top educational institutions with the adventure of the great outdoors. Many students have taken what they learned during their summer(s) spent at Camp Canopy and have gone on to study natural resource disciplines at their post-secondary institutions. Check out their 2025 schedule.
March 2025 – Forestry Scholarships
This meeting is an opportunity for our wide-ranging group of stakeholders to consider and review scholarship opportunities for those pursuing post-high school education relevant to careers in the forest sector. Many forestry scholarships are going unawarded. We will discuss why this may be, brainstorm ways to increase awareness of existing scholarships, and compile a list of opportunities that can be shared out as a resource.
February 2025 – Conservation Corps to Career
Many Youth Corps and Conservation Corps members are interested in an outdoors career, but are unaware of all the opportunities that the forest sector offers and/or how to pursue them. Representatives from several Corps programs will attend the February meeting to share information about their members’ interests and needs, and explore how industry can support the transition from Corps to forestry career.
January 2025 – Pathways Workshop at the World Forestry Center, Portland, OR
December 2024 – Rayonier’s Forestry Careers website
Rayonier’s Director of Communications & Chief Storyteller, Tiffany Wilson, along with Senior Resource Land Manager, Ed Carter, shared information about ForestryCareers.com. The website seeks to introduce students from middle school to college to the many Green Jobs the forestry industry has to offer. With a focus especially on the commercial forestry industry, this site shows that there is a forestry job for everyone. This website can be used in the classroom or on an individual level. School teachers, guidance counselors and parents are encouraged to review the site with students. ForestryCareers.com is meant to serve the entire forestry industry.
November 2024 – California Resilient Careers in Forestry project and will highlight the innovative workforce initiatives happening in California. Don Borges of FoundationCCC will share information on California Resilient Careers in Forestry with project partners Ted James of Shasta College Heavy Equipment Logging Operations (HELO) Program and Lisa Hoveman from California Registered Apprenticeship Forest Training (CRAFT).
California’s forestry and firefighting industries are looking for thousands of individuals like you who want to solidify their careers and build a lasting impact. Our goal is to help you explore career pathways and find accessible training programs that lead to a rewarding future. California Resilient Careers in Forestry is funded by the Good Jobs Challenge, which is part of the American Rescue Plan, administered by the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
The Shasta College Heavy Equipment Logging Operations (HELO) Program is a one-of-a-kind effort to increase workforce capacity in areas of fuels reduction, mechanized logging, and sustainable forest management. Our HELO program is funded by California Climate Investments and administered by the CAL FIRE Forest Health grant program in collaboration with public agencies, private industry, and employer partners.
California Registered Apprenticeship Forest Training (CRAFT) is the only one of its kind in California. The program is designed and managed by industry, supported by education, & registered with California’s Division of Apprenticeship Standards and Department of Industrial Relations. This structured training and education program combines on-the-job (OJT) training and classroom-based related supplemental instruction (RSI) that benefits both employer and apprentice. The future is apprenticeship!
October 2024 – Efforts of Associated Oregon Loggers (AOL) and Future Natural Resource Leaders (FNRL) in creating a Forest Operator industry recognized credential (IRC) in Oregon
September 2024 – Connecting with the Mass Timber Movement. Mass Timber overview from Scott Barton-Smith from Bora Architecture and Interiors with industry status, challenges, and opportunities from Iain Macdonald of Tallwood Design Institute and the PNW Mass Timber Tech Hub
July 2024 – Forest Sector Stakeholder Mapping
June 2024 – Forest Sector Workforce Surveys
Forestry and Forest Products – Career Connected Learning Survey
Forestry and Forest Products – Workforce Development Survey
April 2024 – Role of Skill Centers in Forestry & Natural Resources Career Pathways