FPAC Bio-pathways The Greenest Workforce Jobs in forestry are growing like trees. By Monica Bailey, Director, FPAC he forest products industry is hir-ing. That may surprise many people who have associated the sector with cutbacks and mill closures. However, af-ter some difficult years, the industry has turned the corner and is once again offer-ing solid careers. The forest products sector now has a green and growing future. As we have previ-ously mentioned in these pages, the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) has unveiled Vision2020, an ambitious plan to propel the industry forward by improving its environmental performance by 35%, by generating an additional $20 billion in economic activity from new products and markets, and by renewing its workforce with 60,000 recruits including women, in-digenous peoples and new Canadians. The 21st-century forest products in-dustry requires techno-savvy, innovative trailblazers who care about their future, the T environment and quality of life. There is no better example than FPAC’s first recipient of the Skills Award for Indigenous Youth, Baillie Redfern. Baillie is a young Metis and graduate researcher at the University of Brit-ish Columbia in the field of medicinal plant genomics. Her work focuses on the devel-opment of new bioproducts from balsam fir, including pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Creating smart, green, everyday con-sumer products from wood fibre is just one of many career avenues available in the forest products industry. In fact, no matter where in the business you work – on the mill floor as a mechanical engineer, or in the forest as a forestry technician – the jobs are part of the greenest industry in Canada. That’s because unlike minerals and oil, forests are renewable – we are part of nature’s cycle and regenerate whatever is harvested. The forest industry has world-class environmental credentials, including Air System Experts Biomass N Boardplants Power generation N Pulp & Paper Sawmills N Materials handling N Mining Allied brings 35+ years experience in industrial air systems. Allied’s combination of design, supply, installation & maintenance services provides lower project cost, on-time completion, smoother start-up and less downtime – adding value and safety to your operation. the most certified forests in the world, a decrease of more than 70% in greenhouse gas emissions since 1990 and a partnership with environmental groups under the Ca-nadian Boreal Forest Agreement. The sec-tor is producing more and more bioenergy at mill sites and selling excess electricity to the grid. And the list goes on. There is also a long list of jobs to be filled – millwrights, electricians, international sales staff, truck drivers, foresters, chem-ists, engineers and more. A major challenge remains the need to compete with other sectors, especially the oil patch for skilled labour. To attract workers, the sector in-tends to highlight its impressive track re-cord for accommodating work-life balance, which includes flexible work hours, skills and training development, career growth, community life, and the ability to have din-ner at home should you want to without the burden of flying off to work camps. Still, we recognize the need for addi-tional strategies to reach out to women, aboriginals and new Canadians. Look for a new initiative to be announced early next year, expected in February at the Paper Week job fair in Montreal. Let there be no doubt – Canada’s forest products industry is on the move and eager to welcome new employees to be part of Canada’s greenest workforce.• Monica Bailey is director, communications and member relations, for FPAC. She is responsible for the strategic de-velopment and implementation of FPAC’s communications, new media, marketing and promotions activities. Safety Quality Value Surrey,BC N Vernon,BC N WilliamsLake,BC N Edmonton,Alberta N Prince Albert, Sask www.alliedblower.com N Phone: 800-576-3611 Follow Canadian Biomass on Twitter @canadianbiomass 10 Canadian BIOMASS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012
Canadian Biomass November/December 2012: Page 10
