Forestry: Free training courses offered to grow workforce

The Forestry Training Fund is for people considering a change of career or those who are seeking to build and diversify their skills in forestry. 

The short, practical training courses will be paid for by a £700,000 allocation from the £750m Nature for Climate Fund and, ministers say, will help grow the forestry sector. 

Examples of courses which are covered by the fund include: 

• coppicing 
• chainsaw maintenance and cross-cutting 
• managing your woodland 
• planning and planting a new woodland
• marketing and selling timber
• fence and hedge laying

Forestry Minister Trudy Harrison said: “We need to continue the legacy of our skilled forestry workforce to increase tree-planting across the country. 

"More woodland is vital for nature’s recovery and also essential to increase our security of UK grown timber, and deliver on our net-zero commitments. 

"We have many fantastic foresters already, but there aren’t enough to grow and manage our woodlands at the planned scale over the coming decades.  

Trudy Harrison (Image: FJ/Stock)

“Our free practical forestry training courses will create green jobs, bring more people into the forestry sector and help existing workers build on and diversify existing forestry skills to meet this demand.”

The UK forestry and primary wood processing sectors support 32,000 jobs and contribute £2 billion to the economy every year, while secondary wood processing businesses support a further 60,000 jobs. 

READ MORE: The key forestry points from England's environment improvement plan

Forestry Commission chief executive Richard Stanford said: “I encourage people from all backgrounds and abilities interested to apply, whether that’s a farmer looking to upskill or an individual looking for a rewarding career in forestry.”

Courses will be available until March 2025. Applications are now open. To view a list of training providers and apply for funding visit GOV.UK.