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V O L . X X I I I N O. X X I I I O C T O B E R 2 , 2 0 1 7 14 A fter just three months in Maine's fi rst post-secondary training program for mechanized log- ging equipment, Cody Dennison already has a couple of job options lined up with forestry companies. Dennison, 21, came to the pro- gram after two years studying diesel hydraulics at Northern Maine Community College, followed by a year working as a mechanic in Lewiston, not far from his hometown of Leeds. He heard about the logging program, when it was still in the plan- ning stage, while he was at NMCC. "It seemed something I'd be inter- ested in," he says, reached by phone while at the training site outside of Millinocket. "I love it. Before this pro- gram, I didn't have a clue about anything in the logging industry. But I'm an out- doorsy person and I enjoy being out in the woods and running the equipment." One of six students in the new training program, Dennison, along with his classmates, illustrates its suc- cess as a new recruitment tool in the logging industry. Logging has tradi- tionally been a family-based indus- try, where children followed in their parents' footsteps. But the number of younger workers is declining and many older workers will retire over the coming decade. Already, the industry has numerous unfi lled positions for qualifi ed operators skilled in mod- ern computerized logging machines. So a partnership of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine with community colleges established the program to recruit new talent — including those, like Dennison, previ- ously unacquainted with the industry — and off er them hands-on training and a pipeline to good-paying jobs. "My goal is to have young people be able to operate these half-million- dollar machines and make a good wage with benefi ts, so that they look at this as a career," says Jim Nicols, co- owner of Nicols Brothers Logging in Rumford, who assisted with the program's conception as a PLC board member. "It takes time to build that, as more and more people drift away from our types of jobs." Career jumpstart e 12-week Millinocket course is one of three rounds on tap. e other two are scheduled to take place in 2018 and 2019, in Presque Isle and the Calais region. e program was developed by PLC, Northern Maine Community College, Eastern Maine Community College and Washington County Community College, with support from Milton CAT/CAT Forest Products, Nortrax Inc./John Deere and other industry partners. e program is funded by the Maine Quality Centers, by a special allocation received from the Maine Legislature in 2015 called Put ME to Work, and a 50% match from indus- try. Milton CAT and Nortrax donated the use of logging's specialized heavy equipment — like the feller buncher, which grabs the tree with grapple hooks and holds it while a heavy-duty saw cuts it off at the trunk; a grapple skidder and harvesters. For the pilot class, land was provided by Katahdin Forest Management and train- ing space by PLC founding mem- ber Gerald Pelletier Inc. e course includes classroom and hands-on training, putting students in modern equipment, in the woods, under actual logging conditions. ey receive an overview of common mechanical systems in modern timber harvesting equipment, and an understanding of the variables of timber growth, tree species and markets. ey also become familiar with environmental regula- tions, safety, logging economics and basic maintenance. Graduates will have a foundation as operators, reducing the need for training when they join a company. e program also reduces the initial investment contractors typically pay to train recruits on their own. at cost averages $100,000 per recruit. "It's become very costly for com- panies like ours to take someone who's never run a machine, like those we run nowadays, and do the training ourselves," says Nicols. "So any sort of entry-level training is very helpful and reduces the logging company's cost greatly." at investment can be a risk if a recruit decides the career is not for them. "Sometimes a person thinks they want to do it and once they get in they realize they don't want to do it," says Nicols. "Other times they end up loving it." "Logging is a bit of a way of life," says Donald Burr, who took a leave of absence from Madden Timberlands in Old Town, where he operates a feller P H O T O / H E I D I C A R T E R , N O R T H E R N M A I N E C O M M U N I T Y C O L L E G E Logging into a career Needing more workers, logging industry establishes first-ever training program B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r F O C U S Logging in Maine Industry's economic impact (2014): ¡ Jobs: 7,342 (direct and indirect) ¡ Economic impact: $882 million ¡ Harvest: 14,188,085 tons (pulpwood, saw timber, biomass) ¡ Both loggers and the overall forest products industry have been rocked by closures of paper mills and biomass power plants in recent years. S O U R C E : Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Donald Burr, Northern Maine Community College's program coordinator for the Mechanized Logging Operations Program, trained six students in mechanized logging operations.

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