What we can offer…
Join NZ’s fastest growing primary industry
What we can offer…
WHO ARE WE and CONTACT
FORESTRY BIG DAY OUT
Careers Expos
SCHOOL VISITS
work experience programmes & ride along trips
video resources
study and scholarships
Useful Links
Join NZ’s fastest growing primary industry
Who we are
Grow Me is the forest and tree crop sector national secondary schools engagement programme for New Zealand. Developed by the 8 regional Wood Councils around New Zealand and funded by the Forest Growers Levy Trust, Te Uru Rakau – New Zealand Forest Service. and WIDE Trust.
Want to talk to your local rep or our national program coordinator?
Contacts
For more information on the Grow Me Programme contact National Coordinator Melina Vlahos.
Phone +64 (0)27 607 1600
Email woodcouncilforestry@gmail.com
Or contact your local wood council rep, see below for your area.
Northland
Please email: info@northlandwoodcouncil.co.nz
Or visit the website: northlandwoodcouncil.co.nz
Hawkes Bay
Please email Keith Dolman: kdolman@novapsi.net.nz
Or visit the website: hbforestrygroup.co.nz/
Southern North Island
Please email Melina Vlahos: woodcouncilforestry@gmail.com
Or call her on 027 607 1600
Visit the website: sniwoodcouncil.co.nz
Marlborough
Please email: info@marlboroughforestry.org.nz
Or visit the website: marlboroughforestry.org.nz
Canterbury & West Coast
Please email Paula Hawkins: canterburywoodcouncil@gmail.com
Or visit the website: cwcwc.co.nz
Southland
Please email: brent.apthorp@southernwoodcouncil.co.nz
Or visit the website: southernwoodcouncil.co.nz
Forestry Big Day Out
The Forestry Big Day Out aims to take interested secondary school students and staff around a range of local sites to highlight the diversity of the local forestry industry and extensive career opportunities available.
This can include:
- Sawmill visits
- Planting, processing & thinning crews in action
- Discussions on biodiversity & management of the forests environmental impacts
- Forestry logistics operations visits
- Observing harvesting operations
- This fully funded forestry field trip, over one day, is tailored to your school needs.
No cost to attend and organised with all PPE and equipment, with local professionals from your Wood Council.
Cornerstone College 2022
Kapiti College & Paraparaumu College 2023
Paraparaumu College 2022
Palmerston North Boys High 2022
Francis Douglas Memorial College 2023
Careers Expos
The forest and tree crop sector is New Zealand’s 3rd largest export earner. We are extremely short of employees in our sector and like to showcase our workplaces and provide information about pathways and options for students and careers teachers at as many school career days and expos as possible. Would you like us at your school? Or see where we will be? See the list below for 2022 and contact us if you would like us to attend your careers event.
School Visits
Working in the forest and tree crop sector does not necessarily mean you have to have acquired a “forestry” based qualification. Many of our sector employees hold experience or qualifications from other sectors that are applied across a wide range of jobs of careers:
- Accounting
- Engineering
- Economics and Marketing
- Environmental Science
- Agricultural skills
- Maths, measurement and statistical analysis
- Machine driving skills
- Truck driving skills
- People management and HR
- Biology and chemistry
- GIS, coding, computer modelling and database management
- Mapping, geography
- Health and safety, physiology and community liaison
- Wood mechanics and wood processing roles
All of these skillsets and careers are applied within our businesses in the tree crop cycle. School subjects are best linked directly to people working in those skill sets and we can help by providing a speaker to attend your school or class and talk about what they do, and how that school subject relates to their job.
In person, zoom in or bring a hands on activity. You let us know, our people love to talk about their jobs and how they got there, we can match the professional to your school and subject.
Work Experience & Ride Along Trips
We offer a range of opportunities for students to meet local reps and get an idea of what it’s like working in New Zealand’s vast forest and tree crop sector. Want to meet an engineer? Or ride in a log truck? Or visit a harvesting crew? We can make this happen and tailor an experience to suit a students interests. All PPE and workplace Health and Safety applies to visits, and students must be age 16 or older to visit this workplaces.
Just curious? Give us a call and we can offer a ride along with a local professional for a teacher or student. Come and see what we do!
GROW ME
READY FOR A CAREER IN FORESTRY?
Join NZ’s fastest growing primary industry
Tertiary Study
University of Canterbury – School of Forestry Christchurch
The School of Forestry at Canterbury University delivers the only professional forestry degree programmes in Aotearoa including:
- Bachelor of Forestry Science
- Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Forest Engineering
- Postgraduate Diploma in Forestry
- Masters of Forestry Science
- PhD in Forestry
The buildings are set in their own area on campus in a mini forest, where student share small class sizes, a vibrant student society (FORSOC) and numerous field trips to view both indigenous and exotic forests along with wood processing sites around New Zealand. The students are linked with the forest sector through summer work programmes, workshops and interactions with local forestry companies to engage them with future employers and ensure their skills are directly relevant to the workplaces. Most students are employed directly following graduation from these degrees.
Bachelor of Forestry Science (BForSc) – 4 Years
This degree is management oriented, and requires some study from subjects such as biology, soil science, commerce, marketing and engineering subjects. Students study many aspects of both indigenous and exotic forests in New Zealand while learning how to apply many demands that different users have while producing wood products for markets from our natural resources. The wide range of topics studied in this degree will enable graduates many career options including positions in business, government, councils, consulting How do I get into Forestry and contracting. Forestry education allows entrant into many fields such as conservation, forest management, forest operation, forest policy and other sectors that share these tertiary education abilities. Practical Work is a compulsory part of this degree and the School will assist students seeking summer and field work throughout the four years.
Bachelor in Forest Science
FIRST YEAR FORESTRY CLASS, IN HANMER FOREST. EXERCISES INCLUDE ESTIMATING THE HEIGHTS AND WIDTHS OF TREES AND CALCULATING THE CUBIC MEASUREMENT OF TIMBER IN A FOREST. CLASS RUN BY JUSTIN MORGENROTH AND NIGEL PINK.
Bachelor of Engineering (Hon) in Forest Engineering – 4 Years
Forest Engineering is a hybrid of engineering, forestry and management. Forest engineers are unique people who can combine skills in those different areas to care for forests. They are adept at solving problems with the completing requirements in a forest. To prepare students, the Forest Engineering Degree programme is common with all first year engineering at Canterbury University, followed by three years specialising in forest engineering. The programme content is approximately 40% Forestry, 50% Civil Engineering and 10% Math. In the forest setting this includes road design and planning the placement of forest equipment with harvesting operations, integrating new technologies and optimizing transport logistics. All while ensuring high standards of health and safety and protecting the environment.
Visit video clips
Other Training
Whakatiputanga Ngahere New Zealand Diploma in Forest Management
The New Zealand Diploma in Forest Management is delivered by Tūranga Ararau in Gisborne only. In this course you will learn an Introduction to the forest industry , Leadership, Communication, and People Management, Forestry Science, Technical Forestry,
Land Use and Sustainability and Costing, Planning and Contract Management.
Courses and Workplace Training
Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology Rotorua
At Toi Ohomai you can choose to study Forestry Operations, Machine driving courses. See here a selection.
Please visit their website for the full list of opportunities or contact us to understand campus life in Rotorua, and full student funding available.
Apprenticeships and Workplace Training
Competenz
Competenz offers apprenticeships. This means you can work in the industry and gain qualifications along the way. Often an employer will contribute to your training.
Compentenz provides training programmes for employees in the workplace. The first two years of industry training will be fees free for eligible learners. Check to see which programmes are included.
Don’t know any employers in the industry? Want more information? We can help. Contact us.
Find more info about Apprenticeships on these pages. Or contact your local wood council to ask about opportunities in your region.
| What | Link |
|---|---|
| Becoming an apprentice means learning a new trade while you work. You might upskill in the same job, or start out in a new one. As an apprentice, you get paid while you learn and earn a trade qualification. | www.competenz.org.nz/jobseekers |
| The Central North Island Wood Council The Generation Programme – a ‘real world’ learning experience combining industry training and employment. | cniwc.co.nz/generation-programme |
| The Eastland Wood Council The Generation Programme – a ‘real world’ learning experience combining industry training and employment. | eastlandwood.co.nz/careers/generation-programme |
What
Becoming an apprentice means learning a new trade while you work. You might upskill in the same job, or start out in a new one. As an apprentice, you get paid while you learn and earn a trade qualification. www.competenz.org.nz/jobseekers
The Central North Island Wood Council The Generation Programme – a ‘real world’ learning experience combining industry training and employment. cniwc.co.nz/generation-programme
The Eastland Wood Council The Generation Programme – a ‘real world’ learning experience combining industry training and employment. eastlandwood.co.nz/careers/generation-programme
Scholarships
| What | Link |
|---|---|
| Southern North Island Wood Council
The Southern North Island Wood Council has a scholarship of $8000 ($2000 each year for four years), for:
|
sniwoodcouncil.co.nz/careers/scholarships |
|
Wāhine in Forestry The Wāhine in Forestry Scholarship is a one-off $5000 grant awarded to support a female student enrolling in full time study at the University of Canterbury’s School of Forestry in 2026. This scholarship aims to grow the representation, visibility, and impact of wahine in the forestry industry. |
wahineinforestry.co.nz/scholarships/
To request an application pack, please email ericakinder1@gmail.com |
|
New Zealand Institute of Forestry Foundation The NZIF Foundation is a charitable trust whose mission is to raise funds that can be used to encourage and support forestry related research, education and training through the provision of grants, scholarships and prizes; and promote the acquisition, development and dissemination of forestry related knowledge and information and other activities. |
nzif.org.nz/about-us/nzif-foundation |
|
Southern Wood Council A generous annual scholarship was introduced by the Southern Wood Council for School of Forestry students in 2011 for their final three years of study. The inaugural scholarship was awarded to the first student in 2011 and currently, three students in any one year, are receiving funding through the annual scholarship programme. |
https://southernwoodcouncil.co.nz/#Scholarships |
| Matariki Forests
We offer a number of educational scholarships directly linked to our Iwi joint venture partners to support attracting people into forestry education and to advance careers of Maori already working in forestry. |
www.matarikiforests.co.nz/about-us/careers/ |
| OneFortyOne
OneFortyOne offers not only excellent apprenticeship opportunities but also scholarship and graduate programs that are introducing young high achievers to the potential of the industry. |
onefortyone.com/careers/apprentices-students-and-graduates |
| Timberlands
Timberlands Scholarships |
www.tll.co.nz/scholarships |
|
Hawkes Bay Forestry Group |
www.hbforestrygroup.co.nz/ |
|
Wide Trust The Wood Industry Development and Education Trust is a charitable trust that supports students undertaking career-related studies in the wood and forest industry sectors in New Zealand and entities involved in research, development and the advancement of forestry and wood science. |
www.widetrust.org.nz/ |
Scholarships
Southern North Island Wood Council
The Southern North Island Wood Council has a scholarship of $8000 ($2000 each year for four years), for:
- People enrolling in full time relevant industry tertiary study – or
- An employee within the industry who aspires to further training;
to improve their skills, knowledge and value to the employer
sniwoodcouncil.co.nz/careers/scholarships
New Zealand Institute of Forestry Foundation. nzif.org.nz/about-us/nzif-foundation
The NZIF Foundation is a charitable trust whose mission is to raise funds that can be used to encourage and support forestry related research, education and training through the provision of grants, scholarships and prizes; and promote the acquisition, development and dissemination of forestry related knowledge and information and other activities.
Southern Wood Council southernwoodcouncil.co.nz/#Scholarships
A generous annual scholarship was introduced by the Southern Wood Council for School of Forestry students in 2011 for their final three years of study. The inaugural scholarship was awarded to the first student in 2011 and currently, three students in any one year, are receiving funding through the annual scholarship programme.
Matariki Forests www.matarikiforests.co.nz/about-us/careers/
We offer a number of educational scholarships directly linked to our Iwi joint venture partners to support attracting people into forestry education and to advance careers of Maori already working in forestry.
OneFortyOne onefortyone.com/careers/apprentices-students-and-graduates
OneFortyOne offers not only excellent apprenticeship opportunities but also scholarship and graduate programs that are introducing young high achievers to the potential of the industry.
Timberlands www.tll.co.nz/scholarships
Hawkes Bay Forestry Group www.hbforestrygroup.co.nz/
Wide Trust eastlandwood.co.nz/careers/scholarships/
The Wood Industry Development and Education Trust is a charitable trust that supports students undertaking career-related studies in the wood and forest industry sectors in New Zealand and entities involved in research, development and the advancement of forestry and wood science.