01 Apr California Forestry Jobs Push Targets Equity, Workforce Shortages

(Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash)

By Malcolm Marshall 

California is working to expand forestry jobs as it faces growing wildfire risks and workforce shortages, with a new initiative to open career pathways for communities that have historically been left out of the sector. 

“We’re facing an environmental crisis in California,” said Matt Dias, president and CEO of the California Forestry Association. 

Speaking at an American Community Media news briefing Tuesday, Dias discussed the California Forestry Sector Jobs Initiative, a partnership between Calforests and Cal Fire that has been in development for nearly two years. 

Dias said the effort is focused on raising awareness about employment opportunities within the forestry sector, noting that many Californians do not realize a private-sector forestry workforce exists in the state. 

“I know a lot of folks out there on this call … are from portions of California where there’s not even a knowledge base that there’s a private sector,” Dias said, “that there is a whole mechanism of forestry workforce that is within the private sector of California.” 

The initiative comes as the forestry sector takes on a growing role in addressing California’s wildfire crisis while facing staffing shortages. Historically, the industry relied on local communities to fill jobs, but increasing demand has made that approach insufficient. 

To meet those needs, the initiative is focused on building new partnerships and expanding outreach to communities not traditionally connected to forestry careers, including those in Southern California, the Bay Area and underserved communities. 

“The whole idea of this initiative is to try to build new partnerships, new knowledge base within communities across California,” Dias said. “That are going to help us with the challenges of building new workforce that represents different levels of diversity, new levels of thinking, new levels of innovation.” 

Those efforts are intended to strengthen collaboration across sectors. 

“So that the private sector in California can continue to partner with the federal government, the state government, non-government organizations, tribes,” Dias said. “And really work collectively … to combat some of the environmental challenges that we’re facing.” 

Dias said an aging workforce and persistent staffing shortages are increasing the need to attract workers with diverse backgrounds and skills. 

He said forestry work extends beyond environmental management and includes a wide range of careers across an interconnected industry. 

“Healthy forests, resilient forests provide products for the people of California,” Dias said. “That’s not just economic, but that’s also the products such as clean water, clean air.” 

Job opportunities range from skilled trades to professional roles. 

“We’re moving from jobs that are vocational in nature, such as welders, electricians, all the way up to truck drivers, foresters, folks in sales,” Dias said. “It’s the whole integrated chain of the system as a whole.” 

During the briefing, Dias said the private sector forestry workforce in California includes about 55,000 workers, with additional jobs in related industries. He said about 90 jobs are currently posted, with plans to expand that number to between 150 and 200 positions. 

Most of the jobs are tied to forested areas in rural communities, though not all require relocation, Dias said. 

“In some cases, yes, and in some cases, no,” Dias said. “Many of the positions that we’re looking to fill … are associated with rural communities, and not within the heart of the Bay Area or the L.A. basin.” 

He said the initiative is also aimed at reaching people in urban areas who may be interested in relocating. 

“The premise that we’re working from is that there are people within those communities that actually desire to maybe get out of the urban landscape and more into a rural type of landscape,” Dias said. 

The range of jobs varies widely in terms of training and education, from college-trained foresters to skilled trades. 

“I got my degree in forestry and started working within this sector,” he said. “Others are more vocational needs … electricians and journeyman electricians and welders, truck drivers don’t need the same level of educational skill.” 

Dias said those roles can still provide stable wages that can support a family. 

“They’re all still very well paying, family oriented opportunities for folks to investigate,” he said. 

Dias said one of the main barriers to women and people of color entering the field has been a lack of outreach, not a lack of interest.  

“I think the barrier relies on the fact that the sector hasn’t done a good job reaching out to these different populations at times,” Dias said. “And letting them understand that opportunities exist.” 

“It’s not the fault of the potential applicants,” he added. “It’s really that we have not done our job well.” 

Despite that, Dias noted that Latino workers have long been part of the industry. 

“I can tell you from my personal experience … there was a significant number of Latino men and women that worked within the organizations,” he said. 

He said those workers have been involved in roles such as tree planting, timber harvesting and equipment operation. 

For those interested in entering the field, Dias said the first step is awareness. Learning what opportunities exist, he said, is key to getting started. 

Available jobs and career pathways can be explored at Calforests.org.