This year marks the 20th anniversary of the BC Forest Safety Council (BCFSC), the health and safety association for the forest industry in BC.

BCFSC has been working with industry over these past two decades to help create a skilled and safe workforce, where safety is integrated into every activity and operational process. There are now approximately 60 different training courses for forestry workers including faller training, supervisor training, incident investigation, resource road driver training and many other general forest industry courses. Over the last 20 years, 40,000 participants have engaged in training opportunities to BC forestry workers.

BCFSC’s training programs have been developed with industry to support our collective efforts in creating awareness and improving the skills and knowledge of forestry workers from tree planters, hand-fallers, operators in mechanized harvesting, forest supervisors, wood products manufacturing workers.  These efforts have contributed significantly to the reduction of injuries and fatalities. Some of the notable highlights include:

• Over 4,400 participants have taken the Forest Supervisor in-person courses, where they learned how to be better leaders and mentors in safety.
• In response to COVID, the BCFSC online learning centre launched in 2021 delivering training to more than 14,000 registered participants in various courses including supervisor basics, forestry occupations, SAFE Companies training, wood products manufacturing and other general forestry courses.
• Competency-based standards, training materials and assessment tools were developed with industry Subject Matter Experts for evaluating specific harvesting occupations such as yarding, heavy-equipment operators, log-truck drivers, etc. These tools ensure forestry workers have the knowledge, skills, and qualifications to do their job safely and productively.
• A multitude of free webinars and workshops have been hosted that cover a wide range of topics that are relevant to the forest sector workforce and made available on-demand through BCFSC’s website and YouTube channel to those who were unable to attend in person.

BCFSC training programs will continue to evolve and adapt to the changing needs and challenges of the forest industry and its workers. And we will continue to strive to remain a leader in safety training for forestry workers in the years ahead.

Our goals and vision of the future of BCFSC’s training include:

• Developing and delivering new courses and programs that address the emerging issues and opportunities in the forest industry, such as diversity and inclusion, climate change hazards and new technology.
• Continuing to collaborate and communicate with forest industry stakeholders to identify and respond to their training needs and feedback.
• Expanding the online learning centre, offering more courses and resources that are relevant, convenient, and flexible for forestry workers.
• Enhancing existing access to our training through mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets.
• Updating and revising existing courses to reflect the latest research, regulations, and technologies in the forest industry.