Careers
The forest and timber industry directly provides more than 137,000 Australians with jobs. Many of these people do not actually work in forests but are employed in the manufacturing sector. Those employed include foresters and scientists responsible for sustainably managing forests available for timber production; harvester operators, who cut down the trees; truck drivers who transport them; and workers in timber and paper processing and manufacturing plants.
Many small towns and communities in Australia were founded on the forest industry, and some still depend on timber harvesting and processing to survive. Forestry also provides employment in other areas such as tourism, recreation, parks and land management, and apiculture.
The Australian Forests website is currently under development. A dedicated Careers section will be created in Stage two of this development. Return to this section soon to see some great information and activities about careers in forest related industries. In the meantime, visit the following websites for general information on careers:
- Myfuture - resources and tools to help determine career pathways.
- Job Juice - helps young Australians look for work and think about their futures.
- The Career Key – an online survey to help young people make career decisions
- OZJAC - helps young people find the answers to questions about jobs, courses and careers.
- Job Guide - describes a wide range of jobs with information on specific tasks and skills, as well as education and training requirements.
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Plantation management Photo: NSW Forests |
Forestry management Photo: SAForerstry |
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Timber processing plant Photo: Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation |
Making musical instruments Photo: Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation |
To read more information about Australian forestry education see an article titled “Rewriting the textbooks” taken from In the living forest: an exploration of Australia’s forest community.
Rewriting the textbooks - (PDF - 123KB)
