We are on a mission to address the critical skills shortages across the UK’s forestry and trees sector. We operate as the national training hub for the industry, connecting training demand with high-quality provision, coordinating professional standards, and actively supporting both new entrants and existing workers.
The Forestry Training Service UK (FTS) was established by Confor: Confederation of Forest Industries (UK) with the financial support of key companies in the industry and public forestry bodies to improve workforce development across UK forestry.
We are an independent, not-for-profit company. Driven by our Management Board and supported by our Industry Skills Board, we act as a unified, national force dedicated to identifying and resolving strategic technical training issues.
The UK forestry sector is experiencing an era of rapid expansion. Driven by woodland creation, harvesting, restocking targets, and climate-driven resilience work, independent forecasts predict that our sector will require up to a 70% workforce growth by 2030 to meet expanding capacity.
However, our industry faces a significant skills crisis:
Declining Core Training: Access to basic training for key roles, such as machine operators and forest works supervisors, has diminished creating recruitment barriers and high staff turnover.
The Competence Gap : Certification confirms essential standards, but employers often value additional practical experience, mentoring and professional development; FTSUK training helps bridge this gap by developing workplace-ready skills through structured learning and supported practice.
Accessing Training: Training opportunities are available across the sector, but their visibility and accessibility can be limited. FTSUK helps connect employers and learners with clear, coordinated pathways to relevant training and development opportunities.
We develop and we develop and facilitate advanced, specialised training where market failures exist specifically targeting forest machine operation, chainsaw skills, environmental awareness, forest works management, and leadership.
We focus on applied skills, structured mentoring, and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) pathways so workers can accumulate, log, and prove their competence.
We collaborate with training providers through a structured quality-assurance framework. This ensures that when providers deliver FTS-approved courses, they meet the highest standards of modern, productive forestry.
We build strong partnerships to help new entrants, including career changers, young apprentices, and military service leavers, find accessible pathways, gain qualifications, and take their first secure steps into a rewarding forestry career.
By working together with employers, trainers, and public bodies, we are establishing a “gold standard” that delivers:
