Building the forestry and wood processing workforce

Ten silviculture crews around the country have completed a trial of a new mentoring programme developed by the Forest and Wood Processing Workforce Taskforce, with funding from the Forest Growers Levy Trust and support from MPI.

Mentoring programme manager Greg Steele says the taskforce is looking to improve the status and mana of the silviculture sector.

“We want to formalise mentoring in the forestry training infrastructure, especially as some good crews already do take on this role.

“Using the process, we aim to get new people more skilled earlier in soft and practical skills. We selected crews who were interested and had a new entrant to put through.”

Currently new entrants are encouraged early on in their work to achieve unit standards to meet compliance standards.

“We thought if we identified other key interpersonal, communications, and induction skills and packaged them on a time-serve basis, for example within the first month, that could work. A person following the full programme will achieve 7 to 8 full introductory unit standards as well as achieving time-served milestones. They will be recognised at each milestone, beginning with a one-month certificate. Some of the guys have nothing in the past from school.”

As well as the presentation of a certificate in front of their peers, their elements achieved are downloaded via app onto a smart-card which shows these credentials as a part of their record of learning. A QR code allows scanning and immediate access to credentials held.

The mentoring programme is designed as a package that can run up to 36 months. The first 3 months have been trialled by the 10 crews. The trial results were assessed in late December and a report prepared for the Taskforce Council.

Greg Steele says he was happy with the trial outcomes. “The intent is now to ramp the programme up, engage more crews in 2022, and establish the training with funding from the education sector.

“Mentoring depends on someone being prepared to address it and become a role model, rather than leave a new entrant to their own devices. In  many cases, they turn people around and provide a real service to the crew and the community.”

Troy Mason, managing director of KTM Silverculture Ltd based in the Wairarapa, says the mentoring programme allowed their mentee to complete and pass 3 assessments in a day on the job – in communications, health and safety, and nutrition.

“He is well on his way to getting his national certificate; that will be a huge reward for us. He is probably one of the strongest young fellows I’ve ever seen – a qualified builder and a shearer. He has a good work ethic and is willing to learn.

“He works in a great team environment and is outdoors all day.”

Troy Mason has worked in the industry for 30 years. His company employs 18 staff.

His company does all aspects of silviculture and over the years he has employed many young people.

“Many are referred to us by the police to give them a go and try to turn their life around. Some are at-risk or troubled youths. Some are too far gone to turn around.

“A lot of them don’t have a good work ethic. They don’t have a lot of confidence – we try to build that.

“That’s why there are accidents in forestry – they have issues, they have financial burdens at home.

“It’s being able to read them, take 5 minutes, being able to talk to them – whether it’s me or a crew member – and build a whanau-way around them; getting to know one another and if they are mentally OK.

“As a company, we try to take the financial burden off our employees. We pay our cutters and production leads more than others pay them, and because of what we do for them, their output is higher. As a result we deliver very good quality work to customers, which I can then reward in turn.”

Ben White, director of Ace of Spades Contracting Ltd based in the Bay of Plenty, is also a supporter of the mentoring programme. His company has 2 staff going through it.

“It’s a better way of learning, especially if you have experienced mentors in the crew. Our workers don’t like to be cooped up in a classroom where things go over their heads, but out here in the forest, they can relate to it. It provides a point of difference.”

He says their mentees are receptive to the information which includes safety and a knowledge of the bush.

His company employs 16 people to do a variety of silviculture work and was set up 2 years ago by 5 directors who are good mates.

"The company evolved from that friendship,” says Ben White.

“I love my job; being outside seeing the sunrise and sunset. It’s the crew you’re with that makes it; the culture is so great, and our people have bought into it.

“Silviculture is never going to wind up. Trees will always need to be planted and they will always need to be cut down.”

Contact: For further information on the mentoring programme, contact Greg Steele by phone: 027 431 7211

Leadership training for those working in the primary industries including forestry is helping people to lead others.

Andy Smith, principal of training provider About Life, says typically people with good technical skills are promoted to lead others with an assumption they’ll be good leaders of people. But that is not necessarily the case.

“The next thing is, you find a person grappling with leading a team, responsible for production and output, with normally little opportunity for development. A friend on Friday, boss on Monday situation. They often become overwhelmed and pressurised. In my experience, this can drive other behaviours as coping mechanisms such as bullying, abdication, and absenteeism.”

His company provides a training workshop that uses practical activities to teach the value of a 5-step structured approach to leadership:

1. Discuss and agree what you want to achieve and why it is important.
2. Discuss and agree who will do what by when, and whoever is doing the work gets the biggest say in how they will do this. This step requires a good understanding of the capabilities of team members.
3. Give and receive feedback about how the job is progressing and provide any new information.
4. Remove obstacles for people so they can perform as agreed. This may require coaching.
5. Recognise people’s effort in a way that is meaningful for the individual.

The practical activities show participants first-hand what happens if the first step is missed. Understanding why a task is important is vital if something unexpected happens. This empowers the person to adapt and make better decisions.

The practical, problem-solving activities cater for tactile learners who learn by doing. These people are often found in the primary industries, says Andy Smith.

“Schools often cater for the academic or those good at sport, leaving the tactile reflective learners behind – I was one of them – and a person talking at me from the front of the room was not engaging. There are multiple intelligences; the tactile learners know they’re smart, but they’ve never had it acknowledged.”

Angela Blom, health and safety advisor at Pan Pac Forest Products Ltd based at Napier, was one of a group of 10 Pan Pac staff to attend a course in October. She says they all learned by doing and found it applicable to their roles.

“The activities helped the group understand group dynamics and why things fail when good leadership and influence is not applied, and what good looks like when it’s done well. It also highlighted why good communication skills are a must.

“Everyone picked up something different to take away. The key was to understand our leadership style – everyone has a different style – and that leadership is about influence.

“It helped us understand people better – what the motivators are that lie beneath. It also gave us a structure for how to begin a discussion with a person who is not performing.

“One of the things I really liked was a follow-up text before Christmas with a link to a YouTube video that was a reminder of what we learned. That was brilliant.”

Angela is responsible for health and safety across Pan Pac’s entire forestry group. It’s a fully integrated operation from planting to harvesting, processing and international despatch. This inclues “all the risks known to man” including manual tree felling, driving logging trucks, and flying helicopters.

“I’m a risk-averse person. I like the rules. We want to get home safely. It’s my role to help others do that.”

Pan Pac has been based in Hawke’s Bay for almost 50 years and employs over 400 staff.

Andy says 95 people have been through the Leading a High Performing Team workshop since May 2021. Twenty-four are from forestry and wood processing. Courses have been held around New Zealand, funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries. Those who filled out assessment surveys ranked their learning experience and people engagement tools very highly.

Fiona Ewing is Forest Industry Safety Council (FISC) national safety director. She is also deputy chair of the Forestry and Wood Processing Workforce Council. Fiona has promoted the workshops to forestry companies. FISC has partnered with About Life for a number of years on leadership workshops. This has resulted in 600 forestry workers having now participated.

Fiona is developing a directory of all leadership courses in the sector and would like input.

“The Council ranks leadership and communications skills training as a priority for the forestry and wood processing workforce.

“We have seen material changes and benefits in forestry crews and organisations who have participated in these workshops and implemented these skills. There is improved worker engagement and participation, reduced absenteeism, and happier people who work better together.”

Nathan Fogden has 2,000 hectares of land to plant and prune in 2022 but not the staff to complete the work.

“It’s a really competitive labour market these days,” says the managing director of Te Puke-based silviculture contractors, Inta-Wood Forestry. 

“When I started working in forestry 30 years ago, tradespeople were leaving to work in the silviculture sector. Nowadays, they often earn $30 an hour and I can’t guarantee that.”

The labour market situation is not helped, he says, by inexperienced contractors under-pricing.

Nathan pays his staff the minimum adult wage of $20 an hour to start with, including travel time and breaks. Bonuses are paid at 6 and 12 months for those who pass monthly drug testing. With training and experience, that rate increases to $26.50 with production. He also pays for work clothing and equipment.

“We are working to become a living wage employer in March, with that rate increasing to a target of $30 an hour with production.”

Nathan’s company was the only forestry company to attend the latest Limited Services Volunteer (LSV) career expo held at Trentham, Hutt Valley, on 23 November.

Funded by MSD, LSV is a voluntary and free 6-week training course run by the New Zealand Defence Force for jobseekers.

Nathan says those undertaking the course are attentive, have self-respect, and are drug-free.

“I look for people who are fit and are team people with a drive to do better.”

New recruits will still need to work for up to 4 months on the job perfecting planting before they reach the optimal planting rate of 600 to 700 trees every day.

As a result of giving a presentation and hosting a stand at LSV, his company received a number of expressions of interest from job seekers. While in the end no one was employed as a result, his company will continue to attend LSV graduations where participants come from the Bay of Plenty and finding local accommodation is not an issue.

Inta-Wood Forestry’s clients include a range of well-known forestry businesses and private landowners. Nathan employs an experienced forester who gives additional forestry planning advice.

But it’s hard work and not to everyone’s liking. Nathan always wanted to be a forestry contractor. He is now concerned that his experienced crew supervisors don’t want to follow his path because of the long hours and stress involved in this competitive, demanding environment.

“I love establishing new forests for clients, and many staff get that satisfaction too. They see some beautiful scenery and work all day outdoors. I’m humbled to be able to employ people. There’s a steady flow of work; silviculture doesn’t get turned on and off like harvesting does.”

Nathan is a recently retired member of the Forestry and Wood Processing Workforce Council, whose work is supported by Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service. The Council has been set up to oversee an action plan to make good workforce decisions, attract a larger more diverse workforce, ensure people have the right skills and knowledge, and that workplaces have good practices and work conditions.

Find out more

More information on hiring a Limited Services Volunteer graduate – Work and Income website

Watch a video of Inta-Wood’s forestry planting operation – Rural Delivery website