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> Forest Report 2015 Condition and Use of Swiss Forests FOEN / WSL 2015
6.5 Employees in forestry and the wood industries
Otto Raemy
> Almost 7,000 people work in the forests in Switzerland.
> In 2011, more than 90,000 people worked in the wood industries, which, at the time, consisted of about 15,300 enterprises.
> The employment figures for 2005 and 2011 are not based on the same calculations and can therefore not be compared.
> The basic apprenticeship for working in forestry ends with the award of a Confederate Certificate of Competency as a qualified forest worker. Once completed, numerous other career paths are open. The academic path can be followed after completion of the high school diploma and is offered at the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) or at the School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL.
> The structural changes described in the Forest Report 2005 are still being implemented.
As a result of these changes, the number of forest enterprises fell from 3,040 in 2004 to 2447 in 2012.
Jobs in forestry and the wood industries
Almost 7,000 people work in the forest in Switzerland. The forest enterprises provide about two-thirds of the jobs. In 2011, there were 3,780 full-time jobs in forest enterprises and 1845 working for forestry service entrepreneurs (FSO 2013a).
Major structural changes have taken place in Swiss forestry since 2000, which have led, among other things, to forest enterprises amalgamating. Their number was reduced by a
total of 593 between 2004 and 2012, i.e. from 3,040 in 2004 to 2447 in 2012 (FSO 2013a).
In 2011, there were slightly more than 15,300 enterprises in the wood industry, employing more than 90,000 people.
They are mainly small and medium-sized companies such as carpentry and cabinet-making enterprises and sawmills.
On average, each enterprise has 6 employees. A structural re- alignment of the stemwood-processing industry (in particular
Fig. 6.5.1 Summary of the vocational paths for jobs in forestry. * EBA: Swiss Vocational Certificate.
Source: CODOC Co-ordination and Documentation for Forest Education
Forestry forewoman/man
Second career path
Baccalaureate or diploma for university admission
Vocational baccalaureate
Forest worker EFZ, 3-year apprenticeship
Forest worker EBA, 2-year apprenticeship
Bachelor degree in environmental sciences
Bachelor degree in forestry
Forester with Diploma HF
Forest-related educator Ranger with Diploma BZW Lyss
Master degree in environmental sciences
Master degree in life sciences
Forestry machine driver Cable-crane operator
> 6 Social Economy 6.5 Employees in forestry and the wood industries 111
sawmills) led to a reduction in the number of enterprises, and the number of sawmills fell from 494 in 2002 to 303 in 2012 (FSO 2013b).
Professions in the forest
Technical training in forestry generally begins with a 3-year apprenticeship as a forest worker with a Swiss Certificate of Competence (EFZ). The qualified forest workers perform the practical work in the forest. They can also complete the many courses that are offered as further training and thus qualify for specialised work in the forest (Fig. 6.5.1). For example, they can train to become forestry foremen or forewomen and organise the work in the forest. Professional colleges (Höhere Fachschule, HF) also provide further training. This training is offered at the forestry education centres in Maienfeld (Canton Grison) and Lyss (Canton Bern) and provides a qualification as ‘Forester HF’. Foresters with a vocational baccalaureate (Berufsmatura) can train as forest engineers at HAFL. This study course is also open to those who have completed other professional training or have a federal baccalaureate (Mat- ura) and have completed a specialized pre-study internship.
The ETH Zurich has degrees for environmental scientists and offers Master degrees with a specialisation in forestry and landscape management.
Even today, very few women choose a job in the forest.
In 2013, only two women completed the forestry apprentice- ship. Of the total of 965 apprenticeship contracts signed at the end of 2013, only 9 were signed by women. At the universities, only 6 of the 32 students who completed an internship espe- cially for forestry in 2012/2013 were women.
Although the number of jobs in forestry is declining, about 300 individuals complete the technical training as a forest worker EFZ each year (Fig. 6.5.2). On average, 30 more peo- ple complete courses leading to forester HF, and 15 people continue their training to become forestry forewomen or fore- men, 5 to become forestry machine drivers and just a few to become cable-crane operators. In the last few years, between 10 and 20 students per year have completed the degree at ETH Zurich and attained a Master of Science ETH in environmen- tal sciences with a specialisation in forestry and landscape management. At HAFL, on average, 15 students have become forest engineers every year since 2006. Their versatile training ensures that these forestry specialists do not only find jobs in forests. They have good chances of finding work outside the forest, for example, in public administration, where they can do other jobs besides forestry work.
Fig. 6.5.2 Number of people qualifying as a forest engineer FH, as a Master of Science ETH in environmental sciences with a specialisation in forest and landscape (up until 2007: forest engineer ETH), and as a qualified forest worker (EFZ).
Source: FOEN 2013a
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Number of people qualifying
1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
Forest engineer FH Qualified forest worker Master of Science ETH in environmental sciences
