Page 12 - Georgia Forestry - Issue 2 - Spring 2024

Growing the
NEXT GENERATION
The Need for Workforce Development in Forestry
By T.A. DeFeo
T he skilled worker shortage and developing the workforce of tomorrow are among the hottest topics across Georgia, touching every industry
— including forestry.
While the state’s forestry industry supports
more than 143,000 direct and indirect jobs, developing the next generation of workers is critical. Regardless of the specific recruiting tactics, experts agree success hinges on reaching younger Georgians and educating them on the industry’s diverse opportunities.
As the director of workforce development at Shaw Industries in Dalton, Georgia, Brian Cooksey has seen first-hand the concern about workers.
“I think COVID changed some things. People had more options available; some were able to work from home,” Cooksey said. “It probably brought even more awareness to work-life issues when you have family members you have to care for — things like that.
At the same time, our state is growing leaps and bounds right now as far as new industry coming in and new companies coming in. So the need for workforce [development] is even larger than it has ever been. It’s just a challenging time.”
The Peach State’s population is growing, and the state contin- ues to attract new or expanded businesses — facts state leaders love to tout. However, the addition of companies increases the competition for the existing pool of workers and further pressures companies to recruit.
Introducing Students to Opportunities Early
For the forestry industry, the key to successful recruitment is making the industry — and the diverse opportunities it offers — stand out, and that starts with building a relationship with the next generation of workers. The industry’s opportunities don’t solely include jobs in the forest or the mills; they include every- thing from the back office to the boardroom to social media.
Jason Dunn, executive director of the Fitzgerald and Ben Hill County Development Authority, knows the best way to convey that is to show the next generation of workers first-hand.
“We’re sitting there looking at the opportunity to be able to start introducing [kids] from kindergarten to 12th grade to forestry careers,” Dunn said. “We have a lot of young people who do not get to experience the outdoors or don’t know the whole process of how a pine tree becomes lumber or paper or all the other hundreds of products that we get from them.”
Fitzgerald High School College & Career Academy’s campus includes about 410 acres, roughly half of which is timberland, making it the ideal location to introduce students to the forestry industry’s many opportunities. The career academy is part- nering with local forestry and woodland product companies.
“We did a good job as a society, teaching several generations the idea that a four-year degree was the way to go,” Dunn said. “We really got away and probably did a poor job of introducing
(TOP LEFT) Students in the Forestry and Wildlife pathways operate the saw mill at Newton College & Career Academy,
(TOP RIGHT) plant balled and burlapped River Birch to celebrate Arbor Day, (BOTTOM) and gain exposure to tree care skills by climbing with local industry leader and supporter, Arbor Equity.
10 | GEORGIA FORESTRY
PHOTOS BY MARCUS POLLARD