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SASKATCHEWAN FORESTRY EXPO OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE

Growth Spurt 

The growth of the Saskatchewan forest industry has in turn spurred growth in demand for forestry-related training. 

By Tony Kryzanowski

Significant growth in Saskatchewan's forest industry in recent years has resulted in high demand for training in forestry equipment operation and forest resource management. For example, equipment operation instructors currently expect a 100 per cent increase in enrollment over the next two years. The "bigger picture" catalyst behind the growth in Saskatchewan's forest industry is the provincial government's aggressive "use it or lose it" policy, adopted several years ago, regarding the timber rights allocated to large, existing forest companies. 

The end result has been the re-allocation of millions of hectares of Crown timber to new forestry players. The government has also revamped its Forest Act, emphasizing more up-to-date, sustainable and environmentally friendly forest management practices. All sectors of Saskatchewan's forest industry are using this opportunity to acquire new skills or improve upon those they may already have. On the education side, programs have attracted provincial forestry workers, northern residents with an interest in forestry, as well as many First Nations people. 

Heavy equipment operators will be in demand more than ever in Saskatchewan with the continued expansion of the forest industry in the province. Besides offering training programs in equipment operation, the province's educational institutions also have programs in forest ecosystem management, with a focus on forest and fire management.

One of the main objectives of the Saskatchewan government's new economic development strategy is greater participation by First Nations and Metis people in the province's educational system and economy. This is the inaugural year of the two-year Forest Ecosystem Technology (FET) diploma program offered through the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST). Attracting 16 enrollees, the program emphasizes forest and fire management. 

Last offered at Northlands Community College in La Ronge, the FET program will be relocated this year to SIAST's Woodland Campus in Prince Albert. "Changes to the provincial Forest Act have brought a lot of changes to the forest industry in the province," says Keith Dodge, instructor for the Integrated Resource Management program at SIAST. "Also, there are a lot more players as far as industry is concerned in terms of small operators. There is a big need for us to service the many training needs out there." The forestry ecosystem management diploma program will emphasize hands-on training and represents the highest level of forestry training currently available in the province. 

Previously, there was a forest management component within SIAST's Integrated Resource Management program. It also included training in fisheries, wildlife and parks. "There is quite an interest and demand for forestry jobs. The biggest percentage of jobs that our graduates from that program have acquired in the last five or six years has been in the forestry field," says Dodge. "Not specifically in timber management, but in vegetation, soils, site management, all those kinds of things that fall under the forestry umbrella." He adds that the new stand-alone program is more focused and provides a higher skill level specifically directed toward forestry. 

Graduating students are equipped to accept jobs with any organization engaged in field harvesting, including government, industry, agencies and First Nations communities. "We also offer GIS for resource managers in woodlands as well," says Dodge. "That is becoming a big element of forestry. I think it may become a bigger part of our forestry program as well-the geographical information and computer mapping." SIAST also offers vocational training programs on a cost-recovery basis for workers wanting to learn how to operate equipment in either a mechanical or conventional logging environment. 

They can also train mill workers from yard employees to sawyers, working in either a stationary or portable sawmill environment. "We do contracts for anybody in forestry looking for training," says Bryan Maier, education extension consultant for SIAST. Typically, courses will run anywhere from eight to 12 weeks in a cutblock. Previous clients have included First Nations communities, regional colleges and private companies. 

"We are not a base-funded program where we are established in the Institute and offer programs on a regular basis," Maier explains. "For example, a college may call us and say they need some training in conventional logging within a certain time period and we would set up a course." "There is growth and more money being put in at the post secondary level from government," says Maier. 

SIAST's vocational forestry training program began as a program offered through the province's northern education system. It became part of the post-secondary system in 1987. The program appeals to students with a varied educational background, as they will accept applicants with a minimum Grade 11 education. Anyone interested in participating can simply contact their community college counsellor. 

If enough students show an interest, then training programs can be organized. It is up to the contracting client to find a forest resource to stage the training. Maier says SIAST's instructors are able to provide training in either a tree length or cut-to-length harvesting environment. In addition to logging equipment, they have the ability to train workers in the use of complementary equipment such as skidsteers, loaders, dozers and backhoes. In forestry, these are used primarily for road building. 

Training in log transport is also available, offered through the truck driver- training program. The only component missing from Saskatchewan's forestry training selection is a university education. Although the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon has expressed an interest in offering such a program, Dodge says declining enrolments in forestry programs offered by other universities may delay implementation for some time. 

"It would be pretty tough to run a university forestry program in Saskatchewan when places like the University of Alberta and the University of Toronto are having difficulty getting students," he says.

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