Skilled Workers in High Demand

The harvest sector faces a ‘perfect storm’ as the forest economy heats up. This week we examine the worsening skilled worker shortage that limits the harvest sector’s ability to bounce back.

First of a three-part series

Logging contractors and log-haulers are watching the beginnings of a recovery in the sawmilling industry with a mixture of hopefulness and unease.
It doesn’t matter who you talk with, loggers and haulers all hope rising demand for lumber will translate into more work and stability for them.
But they also worry about taking on extra logging volume when some are experiencing crucial skilled operator shortages. Although owner-operator truckers are getting a lot more work, trucking companies also worry about finding or training enough drivers to keep their trucks rolling.
This past winter logging season, some contractors experienced the frustration of having enough work, but had some of their equipment sitting idle for part of the time because they didn’t have machine operators with enough experience to operate them.
Some actually had to turn down additional work because they were unsure if they could handle it.
The same situation created discomfort on the log-hauling side -- not enough qualified drivers made it difficult for some trucking firms to take on work opportunities in front of them.

It’s about to get a lot worse.

The forest industry is moving into a strong recovery phase, meaning greatly-increased demand for skilled workers. At the same time, mining is revving up and the oil/gas sector is going strong, creating even more competition for skilled operators.
Business representatives from other industry sectors say this worker shortage situation isn’t unique to forestry; it’s endemic across the resource sectors.
There’s rising demand for skilled workers in the resource industries, and because workers are often mobile and have transferable skills, someone who can operate a skidder, loader or grader can easily find work in mining and the oil/gas sector, usually for higher pay. The work is also steadier, over more days in a year.
Poaching is becoming more frequent, with mining and oil/gas companies, under the guise of job fairs, offering signing bonuses and in some cases relocation allowances to attract workers away from the forest industry. It goes beyond harvesting machine operators; mechanics, millwrights, electricians and others are leaving sawmills and pulp mills for greener pastures.
Training and apprenticeship programs are too little, too late.

The storm is upon us.

Next week: The worker shortage is just one factor limiting contractors’ ability to ramp up and log more volume.