Forestry equipment operator to forester
A forestry equipment operator already meets 18% of what the forester role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.
82/ 100
1 How much of what a forester is expected to do is already part of a forestry equipment operator’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 forester role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A forester role treats 3 of its required skills as things a forestry equipment operator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- agronomy
- de-limb trees
- reforestation
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 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A forester role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a forestry equipment operator background worth leading with.
- already held forecast timber production information skills
- already held harvest timber handling and moving
- already held work independently in forestry services management skills
- already held advise on timber harvest communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held reforestation agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary
- already held de-limb trees handling and moving
All 9 carried skills, including the 3 the forester role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 34 missing skills fall into 9 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 forestry regulations required
- still to learn plant disease control required
- still to learn sustainable forest management required
- still to learn pest control in plants required
- optional, not held animal hunting optional
- still to learn manage forests required
- still to learn supervise forestry workers required
- still to learn organise labour required
- optional, not held coordinate forestry research optional
- optional, not held organise harvests optional
- optional, not held develop natural areas works programmes optional
- optional, not held manage time in forestry optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage production enterprise optional
- optional, not held manage staff optional
- optional, not held perform project management optional
- still to learn write technical reports related to trees required
- still to learn promote environmental awareness required
- optional, not held coordinate timber sales optional
- optional, not held interact with clients in forestry optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held use communication techniques optional
- still to learn animal welfare legislation required
- still to learn environmental legislation required
- optional, not held business management principles optional
- still to learn monitor forest health required
- still to learn monitor forest productivity required
- optional, not held estimate damage optional
- still to learn conserve forests required
- optional, not held apply forest legislation optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a forester role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 organise tree plantations practise this
- 02 conserve forests practise this
- 03 forestry regulations study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 9 skills that carry over
- already held agronomy knowledge
- already held de-limb trees skill
- already held reforestation knowledge
- already held advise on timber harvest skill
- already held forecast timber production skill
- already held harvest timber skill
- already held operate GPS systems skill
- already held report pollution incidents skill
- already held work independently in forestry services skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn environmental policy required
- optional, not held geographic information systems optional
- still to learn organise tree plantations required
- still to learn health and safety regulations required
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held coordinate forestry research optional
- optional, not held organise harvests optional
- optional, not held animal hunting optional
- optional, not held coordinate timber sales optional
- optional, not held develop natural areas works programmes optional
- optional, not held estimate damage optional
- optional, not held geographic information systems optional
- optional, not held interact with clients in forestry optional
- optional, not held manage time in forestry optional
- optional, not held apply forest legislation optional
- optional, not held business management principles optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage production enterprise optional
- optional, not held manage staff optional
- optional, not held perform project management optional
- optional, not held use communication techniques optional
37 held skills the forester role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on timber-based products skill
- not needed by the target role assess felled timber quality skill
- not needed by the target role assess felled timber volume skill
- not needed by the target role attach protective attachments to timber piles skill
- not needed by the target role carry out routine maintenance of wood cutting machinery skill
- not needed by the target role comply with timber trade code of conduct skill
- not needed by the target role drive agricultural machines skill
- not needed by the target role drive timber machine skill
- not needed by the target role extract coppice skill
- not needed by the target role fell trees skill
- not needed by the target role forecast workload skill
- not needed by the target role forest conservation knowledge
- not needed by the target role forest ecology knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify trees to fell skill
- not needed by the target role improve timber stands skill
- not needed by the target role inspect timber skill
- not needed by the target role limit load to prevent damage skill
- not needed by the target role load timber onto a skidder skill
- not needed by the target role maintain edged hand tools skill
- not needed by the target role maintain forest inventory skill
- not needed by the target role maintain forestry equipment skill
- not needed by the target role maintain the security of machinery skill
- not needed by the target role manage logs segregation and stacking skill
- not needed by the target role minimise environmental impact on the surrounding area skill
- not needed by the target role minimize risks in tree operations skill
- not needed by the target role operate forestry machinery skill
- not needed by the target role prepare emergency treework operations skill
- not needed by the target role process arisings from treework operations skill
- not needed by the target role process timber using hand-fed machinery skill
- not needed by the target role provide first aid skill
- not needed by the target role report to the team leader skill
- not needed by the target role select tree felling methods skill
- not needed by the target role sharpen edged tools skill
- not needed by the target role spray pesticides skill
- not needed by the target role timber products knowledge
- not needed by the target role use ICT systems skill
- not needed by the target role use hand tools for forestry work skill
11 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 forestry regulations required
- still to learn plant disease control required
- still to learn sustainable forest management required
- still to learn animal welfare legislation required
- still to learn environmental legislation required
- still to learn environmental policy required
- still to learn health and safety regulations required
- still to learn pest control in plants required
- optional, not held animal hunting optional
- optional, not held geographic information systems optional
- optional, not held business management principles optional
Common questions about this move
Can a forestry equipment operator become a forester?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A forestry equipment operator already covers 18% of what a forester is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 3 of which the forester role treats as required.
What skills does a forestry equipment operator need to become a forester?
17 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary. The single most important is organise tree plantations.
How hard is the move from forestry equipment operator to forester?
Its learning distance is 82 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.