Forestry technician to forester
A forestry technician already meets 28% of what the forester role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
74.6/ 100
1 How much of what a forester is expected to do is already part of a forestry technician’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 6 of its required skills as things a forestry technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- de-limb trees
- environmental policy
- monitor forest productivity
- reforestation
- supervise forestry workers
- sustainable forest management
What stands in the way is 14 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 forester role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a forestry technician background worth leading with.
- already held coordinate timber sales communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held monitor forest productivity information skills
- already held supervise forestry workers management skills
- already held apply forest legislation assisting and caring
- 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 forester role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 32 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 agronomy required
- still to learn pest control in plants required
- optional, not held animal hunting optional
- still to learn manage forests 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 work independently in forestry services 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 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
- optional, not held estimate damage optional
- optional, not held forecast timber production optional
- still to learn organise tree plantations required
- optional, not held harvest timber 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 11 skills that carry over
- already held de-limb trees skill
- already held environmental policy knowledge
- already held monitor forest productivity skill
- already held reforestation knowledge
- already held supervise forestry workers skill
- already held sustainable forest management knowledge
- already held advise on timber harvest skill
- already held apply forest legislation skill
- already held coordinate timber sales skill
- already held operate GPS systems skill
- already held report pollution incidents skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn conserve forests required
- still to learn health and safety regulations required
- optional, not held geographic information systems optional
18 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 develop natural areas works programmes optional
- optional, not held estimate damage optional
- optional, not held forecast timber production optional
- optional, not held geographic information systems optional
- optional, not held harvest timber optional
- optional, not held interact with clients in forestry optional
- optional, not held manage time in forestry optional
- optional, not held work independently in forestry services 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
27 held skills the forester role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise client on technical possibilities skill
- not needed by the target role advise on tree issues skill
- not needed by the target role advise supervisors skill
- not needed by the target role apply prescribed herbicides skill
- not needed by the target role conduct reforestation surveys skill
- not needed by the target role ecosystem management knowledge
- not needed by the target role fire-fighting systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role forest ecology knowledge
- not needed by the target role habitat restoration knowledge
- not needed by the target role lead a team in forestry services skill
- not needed by the target role logging knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain forest roads skill
- not needed by the target role maintain forestry equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage forest fires skill
- not needed by the target role monitor drivers skill
- not needed by the target role monitor equipment condition skill
- not needed by the target role monitor logging operations skill
- not needed by the target role monitor work site skill
- not needed by the target role monitor workload skill
- not needed by the target role operate forestry equipment skill
- not needed by the target role perform tree thinning skill
- not needed by the target role plant green plants skill
- not needed by the target role provide first aid skill
- not needed by the target role read maps skill
- not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
- not needed by the target role vegetation control skill
- not needed by the target role work in a forestry team skill
10 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 agronomy required
- still to learn animal welfare legislation required
- still to learn environmental legislation 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 technician become a forester?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A forestry technician already covers 28% of what a forester is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 6 of which the forester role treats as required.
What skills does a forestry technician need to become a forester?
14 required skills are missing, plus 18 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 technician to forester?
Its learning distance is 74.6 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.