The timber industry has to build up momentum in training to compete effectively with products in rival materials.
This was the core message from a seminar, ‘Training in the timber trade’, organised by SCA Timber UK.
The event was held as part of the presentation of certificates to the first 19 students to achieve the Institute of Wood Science Timber Studies Award under a training scheme organised by SCA for its customers in conjunction with Technology for Timber’s Jim Coulson. The students and their employers were joined by Timber Trade Federation deputy director Jean Rennie, British Woodworking Federation secretary Mike Lee and IWSc president Geoff Bagnall.
‘We need a skilled, trained workforce throughout the whole chain, from the forest through the mills and to the end customer,’ said SCA UK chairman Mats Sandgren. ‘We hope this event will show a way forward and give an opportunity for all viewpoints to come together.’
One of the speakers, Alan Goodger, managing director of merchant/importer JF Goodwillie, congratulated SCA on its training initiative. ‘Too often youngsters in the timber trade are expected to “pick it up as they go along”,’ he said. ‘Consequently the training they receive is anecdotal at best, prejudicial at worst.’
SCA Timber UK managing director Rob Simpson said that better training was needed to attract young people to the trade. ‘We must match the best career development paths offered in other industries.’
In a question and answer session Ms Rennie and Mr Lee confirmed that insistence on training would be an element of their organisations’ new codes of conduct.
The IWSc awards were presented by Mr Bagnall and Mr Sandgren.
