Northern Forestry Recruiting Network - May 2008 Listserv
Welcome to the NFRN Listserv! This is a communication tool hosted by the College of New Caledonia and Resources North. It is intended to allow those interested in the issue of recruiting forestry professionals to acquire information, share ideas and explore solutions to recruiting in this sector. It can be useful locally but will also inform provincial and national recruiting initiatives.
In the News...
UNBC to launch new Forest Ecology and Management program in the fall 2008
Guarded optimism prevails over skills shortages in forestry.
Natural Resources Canada Viewpoint Newsletter. Fall 2007. Details.
Fewer students choosing forestry
Blame it on the lure of city life. The rise of environmentalism, the disconnect with nature, whatever the reason, Washington students just don’t seem interested in studying forestry anymore... Details.
Bruce Strachan’s opinion piece
Bruce Strachan’s article in the March 13th Prince George Citizen states that as a sector there needs to be more obvious postings of available jobs and career information.
Events...
COFI web page launch
Chris Lear works hard with high schools to provide programming that will raise the positive profile of the forestry sector across northern BC. The program is not specifically aimed at recruiting for forestry schools but all of the activities that COFI and Chris are engaged in providing an excellent venue for forestry professionals to access high school students. Recruiting programs at CNC and UNBC take full advantage of the opportunities provided. The latest initiative is a new forest education web site that features CNC and UNBC. Details.
Looking ahead: Workforce of the future forum
June 19, 2008 - Pan Pacific Hotel, Vancouver, British Columbia
The Ministry of Economic Development has retained a consultant, Ms. Betty Notar, to assist with scoping out a proposed forum planned for June 19, 2008 on future workforce issues. The Forum is intended to build on “WorkBC: An Action Plan to Address Skills Shortages in BC” which was released in April 2007 and look ahead as BC implements the Labour Market Development Agreement and the Labour Market Agreement. The Ministry hopes this forum will result in recommendations for future responses to ensure BC has the necessary workforce for ongoing economic success. Workforce Forum.
Technology skills consultation on northern strategies
To help identify the issues and formulate strategies for the north, the College of New Caledonia (CNC) and the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of British Columbia (ASTTBC) partnered on a consultation to draw attention to the crisis and help define solutions. Business, industry and community leaders were invited to join CNC President, John Bowman and ASTTBC Executive Director, John Leech to learn of current initiatives and develop a broad strategic approach that will ensure the capacity to deliver technology enterprise throughout Northern BC. Report on Consultation
Resources...
A high school student’s perspective on forestry
A high school student made a presentation to the ABCFP on forestry careers. The report was based on a survey of fellow students and is quite informative. A student perspective.
Future shortage of forest workers drives home need for recruitment efforts
Article reprinted with permission from FORREX; originally published in LINK newsletter Volume 9 Issue 3, Winter 2008. For more information and other LINK newsletters please visit http://www.forrex.org/publications/link/link.asp
BC Task Force on Forestry Recruitment
The ABCFP has posted information about the BC Task Force on Forestry Recruitment on their web site. Follow the link to “what’s new” and the Task Force postings. www.abcfp.ca.
