In an industry where the workforce is skewing older, fresh faces can be hard to find. Here, five forest machine operators under 25 years old share their stories – and thoughts on how the sector can do a better job of recruiting and supporting new blood.
MANY industries are struggling with the ongoing crisis of staffing. Not enough young people are pursuing practical skills and it is evident throughout all walks of life, with forestry no exception.
Perfectly highlighted by the events of Storm Arwen has been a severe shortage of skilled chainsaw operators, when even a decade ago there were plenty to choose from.
Is it a lack of information available to school leavers which sees many apparently unaware of the requirements of the timber world? Or is it the closed-off nature of the sector, with the costs of training up young staff – at the risk of them jumping ship to seek pastures new – too great for youth to be given a chance?
I would suggest it is a combination of both. With timber becoming an even more sought-after commodity, there has to be an influx of new blood stepping forward to continue the groundwork of our forefathers or we risk a drastic downturn in overall production.
That being said, those youngsters who have entered the industry are going to be more sought-after than any who have come before them, which makes the experiences they face within the woods key to future generations. I sat down and chatted with a group of youngsters plying their trade in the woods, and they had plenty of insight to offer.
Ruairidh Johnstone, 17
The family pathway still remains the most frequently taken route into the forestry sector. Sitting on your father’s knee as he harvests tree after tree or extracts load after load leads to using the joysticks or steering the machine and – before you know it – you’re operating yourself.
This is the route Ruairidh followed, becoming the third generation of Johnstones to operate within the Spean Bridge area, near Lochaber, and with one eye to the future he is keen to continue the tradition long-term.
Ruairidh has always had his heart set on following his family into the woods and took the plunge last January, swapping his school seat for one inside a forwarder.
So far, he has adapted well to life in the woods, with a good understanding of how to operate the machines. Having been exposed to them for so long he has a good base to develop from, but admits it’s not all plain sailing.
“Bashing and planning out routes is taking a bit of getting used to, as are the different sizes of timber, but I’ll get the hang of it eventually,” he said.
If it weren’t for his family connections to forestry, Ruairidh questions whether he would have sought out a career in the industry, and he puts this down to the lack of information provided by schools.
He said: “When I was going through school there wasn’t a lot of people who knew about the timber industry. They need to educate more people to see if it’s a career more folk would be interested in doing.”
Working alongside family can cause frictions, but in his role as a machine operator for his family’s business – Louis Johnstone Timber Contractors – Ruairidh has gained the respect of his elders. As the only one of his siblings showing an interest in the trade, the Johnstone legacy will be carried forward through him.
The need for bodies continues to be a main topic of discussion and Ruairidh believes those higher up the ladder have a clear idea of what they’re looking for.
“The older generations are keen for youngsters to get involved in the industry, but they’re looking for people who can think for themselves, because the time it takes to train someone from scratch needs a lot of patience, especially when they’ve got their own work to be doing.
“Working out in the open, away from everyone else and with no hassles is great, but the weather sometimes makes it a little challenging – in summer you get cooked in the machine and other times you’re constantly being bothered by water.”
Robin Parsons, 22
In the current climate many companies are struggling to recruit people capable of covering one aspect of the day-to-day operations required in the wood, which makes Simon Flack’s acquisition of Robin even more of a coup. More than capable of turning his hand to anything machine related, Robin is a relative rarity among those his age, willing to run the hills with a winch or wrestle with a chainsaw. At just 22, he has plenty of years to choose a particular aspect of the job he wants to focus on, but for now he is grateful for the opportunities he has been granted.
Growing up in mid Wales, a career in forestry has always been the goal for Robin.
He said: “From the age of 13 I had it in my head that driving machines was what I wanted to do after watching a local contractor operating next to where we lived.” So, when the opportunity to give it a shot came about, he jumped at the chance. “A friend of ours worked in forestry so I got into it through him and started out doing estate work as the kind of work experience kid – driving the tractor and running the winch when I was 17.”
After getting some industry experience, Robin was then recommended to another contractor who was looking to take on a fresh face, giving him his first crack at felling and driving a forwarder, fulfilling the ambitions he had held from his youth.
“The company that I work for now, SJF Timber, took me on about two years ago to drive the tractor and winch, but when he bought a harvester I was put on that – despite never having operated one.”
But with his experience of driving both forwarder and digger, Robin picked it up quickly, adding another string to his bow.
As a youngster in the industry, Robin is grateful for the guiding hand of the experienced operators he has worked alongside so far.
“They’ve given me a lot of tips along the way and I’ve always gotten along really well with them, because I just crack on and do what’s needed,” he said.
Working alongside Simon and his forwarder operator, Charlie, suits Robin as it allows him the day-to-day variation that keeps him motivated, quipping he wouldn’t want to just sit in the same machine day after day. The physical, on-the-ground activities in the steep valleys of Wales would be a daunting workplace for many, but Robin seems genuinely comfortable in his setting and enthusiastic when he speaks about his work.
With his parent company being one of many that has struggled to get willing recruitment, Robin believes more publicity is needed to promote careers in timber contracting.
“Careers in agriculture are talked about much more, but the conversations about cutting trees are usually done negatively because people don’t fully understand it and that’s a fault of education, in my mind,” he said.
It is clear to see Robin has found the perfect career for him. He added: “I love being outdoors, working on machines, and it’s all just so interesting. Plus there’s less people to deal with, which is always a plus.”
Greig Lothian, 19
From a young age, Greig always knew the academic route wasn’t for him. He wanted to get out into the world of work and use his practical skills to his advantage.
“Too many young people think that to get a good job you have to go to university or college, but that’s not true,” he said. Leaving school at 15 to work in farming and with plant machinery, Greig soon discovered a natural talent for operating machinery. This stood him in good stead, giving him some practical experience when it came to applying for Blacklock Harvesting’s apprenticeship scheme. Alongside three other new starts, Blacklock gave Greig the chance to learn to operate a forwarder, something he’d been eager to try after hearing stories from his girlfriend’s father, who works for Dick Brothers.
Blacklock arranged for Greig to take part in a course with Forsyth Forestry Training, giving him the foundations necessary to operate this new machinery to a base level.
After a stint at Komatsu in the workshop, providing knowledge on basic repairs and maintenance, he was ready to enter the woods.
This method of training covers all the basics and gives young operators the time and reassurance not provided in other areas of the industry. Greig believes that if more companies offered these chances to youngsters then there might not be such a shortage of competent operators.
“There’s not enough companies doing what Blacklock is. The industry is crying out for young people to come into it, but if they can’t get a start somewhere they won’t give it a try.”
Already Greig has nailed his colours to the mast, having tried out both the Komatsu 855 and John Deere 1210, with green coming out on top.
“They are not comparable for me,” he said. “The John Deere is just brilliant.”
While the weather occasionally gets to Greig, he takes great comfort from a tidy load of short wood – whether it be 1.9s or 2.5s.
Like most beginners getting to terms with the differing species and lengths on site, Greig is finding it tricky, but is fortunate his seniors are understanding and eager to educate, as opposed to criticising.
Looking ahead, Greig definitely sees his future in operating, with taming the harvester his next big challenge.
He said: “In the next two years, I’d like to get to grips with the harvester, then long-term I’d love to have my own business, maybe with two or three machines. But for now, I’m just grateful to Blacklock for giving me the opportunity to work in forestry.”
Jack Osborne, 21
In what seems to be the tried-and-tested, conventional route into the industry, Jack Osborne also followed his father into the woods.
While this most common introduction to forestry says something positive about the elders in the industry, it highlights that educational institutions continually – and disappointingly – neglect one of the world’s most important trades.
Jack was introduced to the sector at a young age, instantly being drawn towards the wood.
“I found it so fascinating watching all the machines work,” he said. “I never knew what they were really capable of.” That was until he finally got to operate one when he left school.
After planning to explore the mechanical route and become an apprentice for local Logset agent John Fukes, infrastructure dictated the journey into on-site forestry would be a better path for Jack to follow. Starting off running the banks for a winch operator, Jack was happy to get his foot in the door and keen to show his eagerness in any way he could.
He said: “When the college thing fell through, my dad’s boss had seen how willing I was do work, so said I could get a job with them and I ended up bank running for about five weeks above a tarmac road.”
Jack’s positive attitude and willingness to do whatever was required of him meant that MV & JM Davies did not have far to look when a forwarder seat became available in-house.
“They had about five forwarders and when they bought a new forwarder for one of the operators I was asked if I fancied trying out the 840TX Komatsu.”
After honing his skills on the 840, Jack was given the chance to progress onto a Ponsse Elk when staffing changes freed up a seat on the yellow giant.
The first site Jack was left to extract in his new seat was a thinning site, the type of work he believes every new start should learn to operate on.
“You have to be so precise with the crane in a thinning,” he said. “You can’t just swing your grab out without a care in the world. You have to pay attention to the standing trees and the ground conditions, because there isn’t so much brash, which develops your abilities a lot faster.”
In an industry with lots of experienced operators who perhaps feel helping new starts is beneath them, who would rather get on with their own job than stop to give guidance, Jack feels he’s been lucky.
“The guys I work with are always willing to help and I’m lucky if my dad’s on-site because he has helped me out a good few times. Just by watching the experienced lads I’ve picked up so much, in particular in a large clearfell, on how to use the extension effectively.”
Jack, too, lives for the freedom the job provides.
“As long as you’re getting the job done, you don’t have anyone breathing down your neck. Forwarding gives you great variety. You get to move in and out of the woods and get good craic with the lorry drivers and even the occasional flat to load.”
When asked if harvesting was something he’d be keen to have a go at, Jack pondered before stating he thinks he’ll stick to forwarding for the meantime to avoid the repetitiveness of clearfelling.
The shortage of operators in mid-Wales, where everyone knows everyone, is becoming an even bigger issue, Jack said, with many contractors struggling to fill seats.
“It doesn’t seem anyone my age down here is really interested in it.”
He added: “Obviously health and safety is a big thing, but schools should be encouraging people towards the industry by taking them out on sites to properly educate them on what we do.”
It is clear the prices of machines and maintenance are continuing to climb, but if the number of young operators is to increase, Jack believes companies have to alter their thinking.
“They will come in and obviously won’t be as fast or as tidy, but if contractors have faith in them, give them chances to learn and experience new things, I think more young people would be willing to give it a shot.”
Glen Barclay, 24
While it might be unconventional for a writer penning an informative piece to interject with his own thoughts and experiences, in this instance it is relevant as I too am a young person involved in the industry, on two fronts – firstly, as an operator and, secondly, through journalism.
Not many operators decide to up sticks and begin a degree in journalism after operating machinery for a prolonged period of time, but this inside track within our industry gives me the perfect base to write from.
My background comes from the well-trodden path of following in the family footsteps, with both my father and grandfather working in the woods for most of their days. As a youngster, I was reluctant to show an interest in the work, occasionally helping load and deliver firewood, but other than sitting in the cab it was sports that captured my attention.
At 17, I got my first taste of operating the machine, a Timberjack 1110C, on a job near to our house. This made the prospect of working in the woods a lot more enjoyable as I was finally in sole control, given direction of what to do and left to get on with it.
This is probably the main stumbling block those with no timber heritage face. It is easy for a father to give his son or daughter the time to learn on their own machine, but for a relative stranger clunking and clanking the crane about, taking an age to load up and mixing sizes or species up, patience runs thin.
This means the need for greater education within schools and colleges for budding machine operators has to be addressed. Britain’s heritage is littered with timber-related advancements and if there is not a serious change of emphasis towards boosting intake to the sector, then the shortage of skilled operators is only going to worsen.
But it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for me. I found some older heads I came across to be reluctant to give the guidance or support needed for someone just earning their stripes.
It’s not much fun facing lorry drivers who would laugh at you as you tried to load their wagons for the first time, struggling to avoid the bolster pins with low-hanging hydraulic pipes, or fellow machine operators who wouldn’t inform you of softer areas on site, then abandon you when the inevitable cry for a pull rang out.
Perhaps the methods of sink or swim can’t be applied completely when using hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of high-tech machinery in comparison to the days of hand felling and dragging.
When offered the chance to write about something I have grown to have a proper passion about, I jumped at it. It is important to look back at where the industry has come from – the machine developments, the men behind the earliest days of contracting and the foundations they laid so we, as young operators and wood aficionados, can carry the torch forward for generations to come.
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