2023-12-05 10:33:36
The figure can be dizzying and yet it is established. “It’s written in our careers guide, which was released a month ago, the wood industry is looking for between 80,000 and 100,000 people for 2024. And yes, I confirm it, it’s enormous but we are an industry which already employs some 400,000 people, almost twice as many as the automobile industry,” proudly says Nicolas Jobin, communications manager at the Union of French Forestry Cooperatives.
Forestry workers or technicians, engineers, there is something for all tastes and all levels of training, from CAP to bac + 5. “There is great tension in certain professions such as lumberjack but also in the entire wood processing sector. with the saw drivers,” continues this enthusiast.
How can we explain this massive recruitment, to say the least? Several elements are obvious. Wood is at the heart of the new environmental policy, both for the construction of housing and for heating without forgetting furnishing. What’s more, it’s a virtuous sector. Once the wood from the furniture has been recovered after use, it can be used again in boiler rooms, for example. And the announcement in recent days by the President of the Republic of the objective of planting a billion new trees within ten years has put a new spotlight on this green sector.
Plant new species
“We are eco-friendly, we are in the green transition, but to succeed precisely, we need to use French wood and work locally,” continues Nicolas Jobin. Wood is energy, paper pulp, cardboard, furniture, construction, pallets, packaging and even straws. » Although some 190 species are present throughout France, it is not always easy to work in the different massifs. In fact, three million private owners own 75% of the forests and, for the most part, they have no maintenance obligation, their plot being too small.
However, wood specialists are still on the warpath to imagine the forests of tomorrow. With global warming, we must not only already have sufficient production but also think about future generations by planting species that will be able to live at a higher temperature of 3 or 4 degrees in 2100 and therefore with different soils. Put together, we obtain a sector that seeks to hire en masse.
“If a construction company has wood skills, it will weather difficult times and gain market share. It’s not for nothing that carpenters or carpenters are so sought after. But above all, it is a sector which has modernized enormously,” explains Roland Grillères, national employment center referent for the forestry-timber sector.
“We offer more than 30 different professions”
“Today there is a lot of technicality in the machines used,” he continues. Companies have invested heavily to improve working conditions, including in sawmills. This is particularly why we support all open days and why we are looking for profiles to join the different training centers. »
Alessandra Negri, markets and CSR manager at Le commerce du bois – an association which brings together professionals, whether importers, processors or distributors – confirms the real labor needs. “Wood is on the rise. It is a renewable, natural material that stores carbon and, paradoxically, we are struggling to attract. However, we offer more than 30 different professions ranging from field work to research and development. »
CAP, BEP, professional baccalaureate, BTS, licenses and even bac + 5 for engineers, all paths can lead to a career in the wood industry. All you have to do is find the one that best suits your desires, whether it is initial training or retraining, or your skills. Demand is high everywhere in France. No region is looking for people wishing to work in the sector. So, above all, don’t hesitate to try out the professions as it is sometimes possible. Recently, in Bazas (Gironde), a training center offered virtual reality headsets to allow candidates to better understand the possibilities. The success was immediate.
UP TO YOU :
A book: “Woodworking technology” (in 3 volumes) by Olivier Hamon and Vincent Roullat, 336 pages, 16.90 euros (each volume), Dunod editions.
HE IS HIRING
Alexandre Fabioux, human resources director at Unisylva
Alexandre Fabioux is a busy man. The HR director of the Unisylva forestry cooperative has recruited a lot in recent years and will continue to do so for its 17 agencies spread across the Center – Val de Loire, Auvergne – Rhône-Alpes, Burgundy – Franche-Comté and Nouvelle-Aquitaine regions.
PROFILES. We are looking for technicians or engineers in forestry management or wood exploitation and marketing. In both cases, we are also open to young people who have just obtained their diploma, whether it is a BTS, a master 2. Between an experienced element and a junior, it is the support that we then offer which is different. .
COMPENSATION. For a beginner technician, our scale starts at 2,150 euros gross per month. Within 5 years, it then rises to 2,700 euros. For an engineer, upon leaving school, he will have 2,715 euros gross each month then 3,300 after 5 years. But bonuses are added based on collective performance. They can reach a maximum of three months of salary per year.
EVOLUTIONS. We support each employee in their progress according to their wishes and abilities. Initially, he can supervise interns, take charge of tutoring work-study students or new arrivals in the cooperative. Some technicians have even become agency directors with more than 20 employees and 10 million euros in turnover. And then, there is also internal mobility because our sites go from the south of Chartres (Eure-et-Loir) to Saint-Flour (Cantal).
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