Forester to forestry technician
A forester already meets 27% of what the forestry technician role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.
76.1/ 100
1 How much of what a forestry technician is expected to do is already part of a forester’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the forestry technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A forestry technician role treats 6 of its required skills as things a forester already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply forest legislation
- coordinate timber sales
- de-limb trees
- environmental policy
- reforestation
- supervise forestry workers
What stands in the way is 17 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 11 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A forestry technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a forester background worth leading with.
- already held coordinate timber sales communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held apply forest legislation assisting and caring
- already held supervise forestry workers management skills
- already held monitor forest productivity information skills
- already held advise on timber harvest communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held sustainable forest management agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary
All 11 carried skills, including the 6 the forestry technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 27 missing skills fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn conduct reforestation surveys required
- still to learn manage forest fires required
- still to learn monitor logging operations required
- still to learn monitor work site required
- optional, not held monitor workload optional
- optional, not held read maps optional
- still to learn apply prescribed herbicides required
- still to learn vegetation control required
- still to learn perform tree thinning required
- still to learn plant green plants required
- still to learn habitat restoration required
- still to learn forest ecology required
- still to learn maintain forestry equipment required
- still to learn operate forestry equipment required
- still to learn maintain forest roads required
- optional, not held monitor equipment condition optional
- still to learn logging required
5 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a forestry technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply prescribed herbicides practise this
- 02 maintain forest roads practise this
- 03 vegetation control practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 11 skills that carry over
- already held apply forest legislation skill
- already held coordinate timber sales skill
- already held de-limb trees skill
- already held environmental policy knowledge
- already held reforestation knowledge
- already held supervise forestry workers skill
- already held advise on timber harvest skill
- already held monitor forest productivity skill
- already held operate GPS systems skill
- already held report pollution incidents skill
- already held sustainable forest management knowledge
The 5 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn provide first aid required
- still to learn ecosystem management required
- still to learn fire-fighting systems required
- optional, not held advise on tree issues optional
- optional, not held advise supervisors optional
- optional, not held work in a forestry team optional
- optional, not held advise client on technical possibilities optional
- optional, not held use different communication channels optional
- optional, not held lead a team in forestry services optional
- optional, not held monitor drivers optional
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held monitor workload optional
- optional, not held advise on tree issues optional
- optional, not held advise supervisors optional
- optional, not held lead a team in forestry services optional
- optional, not held work in a forestry team optional
- optional, not held advise client on technical possibilities optional
- optional, not held monitor drivers optional
- optional, not held monitor equipment condition optional
- optional, not held read maps optional
- optional, not held use different communication channels optional
32 held skills the forestry technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role agronomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role animal hunting knowledge
- not needed by the target role animal welfare legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role business management principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role conserve forests skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate forestry research skill
- not needed by the target role develop natural areas works programmes skill
- not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role estimate damage skill
- not needed by the target role forecast timber production skill
- not needed by the target role forestry regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role geographic information systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role harvest timber skill
- not needed by the target role health and safety regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role interact with clients in forestry skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage forests skill
- not needed by the target role manage production enterprise skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role manage time in forestry skill
- not needed by the target role monitor forest health skill
- not needed by the target role organise harvests skill
- not needed by the target role organise labour skill
- not needed by the target role organise tree plantations skill
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role pest control in plants knowledge
- not needed by the target role plant disease control knowledge
- not needed by the target role promote environmental awareness skill
- not needed by the target role use communication techniques skill
- not needed by the target role work independently in forestry services skill
- not needed by the target role write technical reports related to trees skill
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn ecosystem management required
- still to learn habitat restoration required
- still to learn logging required
- still to learn fire-fighting systems required
- still to learn forest ecology required
Common questions about this move
Can a forester become a forestry technician?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A forester already covers 27% of what a forestry technician is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 6 of which the forestry technician role treats as required.
What skills does a forester need to become a forestry technician?
17 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is apply prescribed herbicides.
How hard is the move from forester to forestry technician?
Its learning distance is 76.1 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.