Wood Technology as a Career
Image from: https://www.ls.tum.de/en/hfm/chair-of-wood-science/

Wood Technology as a Career

This is my opinion and is subject to criticism or comment.

I get the impression that Wood Technology, as I studied, is a dying study direction and career path. I did my bachelor’s degree in Wood Technology at Nelson Mandela University – George Campus South Africa. This was a great course and helped me tremendously in my career in the timber industry which spans 2 continents and well over 25 years.

I stand to be corrected, but Wood technology students have a near 100% employment take-up by industry once they finish their 2-year certificate/diploma or 4-year Bachelors’. Unfortunately, enrollment numbers are extremely low, resulting in Wood technology courses being incorporated or dissolved into other, wood products extensions or wider/generic fields of study, or discontinued completely.

I find it strange that universities across the globe would continue running (other fields of study) bachelor’s courses with very low chance of employment. I have heard of courses with yearly graduation numbers of a hundred students or more, and less than 10% of graduates getting employed.

If only 10 students graduate from Wood technology, but 100% gets employed, vs 100 graduating from other courses and only 10% gets employed, which is the better course or career?

The problem must be that the industry is either not supporting the courses well enough, or the wood technology courses itself is out of touch with what industry needs or just not marketed well enough for young people to want to pursue it – or all and maybe more than the above?

Ask a young – work ready person if they want to work in the wood industry - firstly they may not know what it is about, or they may think they will be manually sawing trees stacking boards in a sawmill their whole life. This cannot be further from the truth!

This begs the question: What is Wood Technology?

If Forestry deals with the life cycle and management of the tree from seed to saw, Wood Technology deals with everything from where Forestry stops, till the end use of the product and all processing and science in between. Wood Technology as a field of study is much broader than one thinks and prepares one for just about any primary and secondary processing environment one could encounter in the timber industry - and even outside it. Here are a few examples of a Wood technology curriculum and the stuff one will likely learn about:

  • The history of forestry and sawmilling
  • A basic understanding of forestry and the wood industry,
  • Properties and chemistry of wood, species identification
  • In depth study of the sawing process – understanding the machinery, tools and value vs. volume recovery,
  • Saw filing, blade sharpening and the science behind it,
  • In depth study of timber value adding processes like particle board manufacturing, OSB, Plywood, Paper and pulp, Chipboard, Laminated products like Cross laminated timber, furniture manufacturing, flooring, charcoal manufacturing…to name a few,
  • The science of timber preservation,
  • Timber grading,
  • Adhesives and coating technologies
  • Mechanical drawings and CAD design
  • Mathematics, Physical science, geometry and statistics
  • Timber structures – Timber frame construction, basic design, shear forces and bending moments, snow and wind loads.
  • Thermodynamics and steam, heating systems
  • Introduction to PLCs, automation and electricity
  • Basic computing/IT
  • In depth study of timber seasoning/ drying kiln technology
  • Business management and financial principles
  • People management, work study, basic human resource management and labor legislation
  • Operations management
  • Introduction to Marketing
  • 6 months to a year practical in field training as a prerequisite to finishing your studies.

 The above can set you up to grow into an entry level management or supervisory position in just about any timber processing or related environment in a relatively short space of time, and, depending on yourself grow into top management. It could also spark your interest to further your studies or specializing in a specific aspect of the global timber industry.

Wood technologists are working in timber processing and related industries across the globe and are working as – to name but a few jobs like:

  • Production and operations managers,
  • CEOs of companies,
  • Plant managers,
  • Researchers in the field of timber and timber extension,
  • Sales and marketing of industry equipment like kilns, sawing, sorting and stacking machines, wood treatment products like preservatives, end coating and adhesives,
  • Lumber and building inspectors,
  • Timber frame construction,
  • Lecturers at training institutions,
  • Self-employed businesspeople,
  • Timber automation specialists,
  • Timber drying specialists,

 I believe it is time for everybody in the timber industry to acknowledge and boost a career in Wood technology, not only will this spark the younger generations’ interest in our industry, but it will boost the usage of the greatest renewable, carbon neutral resource available to man – Timber.

#swst.org #Wood industry network #Lumber professionals group #North American Forest Foundation #NHLA #NAWLA #IHLA #NELMA #MLMA #AHMI #SFPA #KFIA #HMA #IWPA #AWC.org #NWFA #Forest products society #carbon neutral #sustainable #woodisgood #forestproud

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Chad F. N.

Assistant Director UK Robinson Center, Director Wood Utilization Center and Forest Products Specialist

1y

Well said Henco

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