Edinburgh Napier University

  The final report for the Forest Industries Recruitment and Retention (FIRRS) project.

Forests and their products are hugely important to the economic and environmental sustainability of Scotland’s economy and influence many aspects of Scottish society. However, the forest and timber industries in Scotland face significant problems in workforce recruitment and associated skills shortages. These challenges will become more acute as the population ages and the aspirations of workers continue to change.

This guidance document highlights the challenges facing the forest and timber industries and provides advice on how these can be overcome in order for the sector to remain competitive in the future.

The FIRRS project was supported by the European Social Fund under Priority 5 ‘Addressing Gender Imbalance’ which provided 45% of the total budget. The other 55% was provided as cash and in-kind contribution of time from Napier University and partnering organisations including the Scottish Forestry Trust and ConstructionSkills Scotland.