Green Jobs seeks new forestry employers for wage matching

The Green Jobs program matches 50 per cent of a student’s wage for positions such as forestry planner, silviculture technician or worker, tree care specialist, and many more.

Green Jobs launched in January and over the course of the year funded more than 750 students across Canada in 11 provinces and territories. The two-year initiative wraps up at the end of 2019 and aims to have filled 1,600 positions.

“The idea behind this program is to get as many youth exposed to green jobs as possible,” Green Jobs Manager Zac Wagman told CFI. “We want to get them thinking about these jobs as viable career options.”

The program is funded in part by the federal government’s youth employment strategy. PLT Canada works with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the Canadian Parks Council networks to place the students, however, applications to all employers that meet the criteria. Employer applications for 2019 open in early January, and can be found here. 



“We’re hoping the program provides incentive for employers to hire additional students for their operations next summer,” Wagman said. “We know people are in budgeting mode, so we’re hoping that with this funding they can added additional capacity to get more students engaged in the sector to become future forest and conservation leaders.”

Eligible students are between ages 15 and 30, are Canadian citizens, and intend to return to school full-time in the next academic year. The Green Jobs website also hosts a job board for employers to post available positions, and for students to search for job openings.

“From the feedback we received from students through a survey in 2018, many of them indicated that they had no idea these types of jobs were an option to them, and that the jobs are in a sector that really values sustainability. When they actually get an opportunity to experience these jobs first hand, it changes their perspective, and hopefully inspires them to continue their career path in these sectors,” Wagman said.

Many Canadian forest product companies took advantage of the Green Jobs initiative last summer, including West Fraser, TimberWest, Canfor, Conifex, EACOM, Millar Western, and Resolute Forest Products.

Find more information on their website or by emailing greenjobs@pltcanada.org.