While present market conditions may be challenging, the forestry industry is somewhat unique, says the managing director of Forest Protection Services (FPS) Kevin Ihaka. “We are in an industry that has a 30-year life cycle so even when there are challenges, the industry also has a lot of certainty. Markets go up and down, but we have a long-term vision.”
Kevin and his wife Kylie have weathered many such fluctuations over the years after starting FPS around 25 years ago. The company grows and protects forests from planting right up to the point when another company will harvest. Kevin says this means FPS can see a long way ahead in terms of the work coming up, which allows it to invest in young people coming into the industry. It has a current training programme in partnership with the training institute Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
The programme began last year when FPS took on a group of 12 trainees who have progressed through their first level of training and are about to step up to the next level. It has just taken on an additional 14 students. “Training is delivered through our workplace, values and way of doing things with the support of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa around the technical and administrative aspects of training. It’s working incredibly well. While there has been a lot of talk around labour shortages we are not noticing that as we’re getting enough local people.”
He says it provides people with a great opportunity to start a career while earning money. “Forestry is a great industry for all sorts of career pathways both in New Zealand and worldwide. For example, FPS offers its forest protection service internationally with prevention advice and specialised fire fighting crews with the experience and knowledge to fight a forest blaze quickly, efficiently and safely.”
“We provide services that have our clients’ best interests at heart, ensuring their investment reaches its potential through proactive management.”
Kevin says technological advancement has also played a key role in the growth of FPS as it provides further opportunities for people in the industry. Drones are used by FPS for aerial imaging, and AI can pick out the pine trees from the image to work out gaps where trees might not have survived in a newly planted forest among other things.
He says that FPS is proud to offer clients many years of experience managing forest blocks from land clearing and site preparation to forest establishment. Services include mapping and measuring, quality assurance and data collection, site preparation, seedling transportation, growing and tending of trees, forest establishment, pruning, thinning, fertilising and weed control and releasing.
Clients vary from big corporate forest owners to small woodlot owners on farms. “We provide services that have our clients’ best interests at heart, ensuring their investment reaches its potential through proactive management.”
Kevin says the forestry industry is a great industry to be part of. “I started in this industry about 43 years ago, and I’m still working in the same forests. It’s a real connection you get with the forest. I see that in our young people too. There is a sense of ownership that they are creating something for the future. When we take on the second generation to work in our business, it shows the permanence of the forest and what it can offer people.”
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