The UK Forestry Jobs Newsletter shares the best curated forestry jobs in the UK, from tree planting to director level.
After a few weeks of talking about pay, retention, mental health and the census, it is nice to have some properly good news to share.
James Jones & Sons has started a £21m expansion at its Mosstodloch sawmill in Moray. The first phase includes a new 4,000 square metre building housing two new production lines for resawing and post pointing, turning timber into products for the construction, fencing and packaging markets. Highlands and Islands Enterprise is putting in up to £315,000 towards it, and the wider plan for the site is expected to create 14 new jobs.
Fourteen jobs might not sound like headline-grabbing numbers. But Mosstodloch already employs around 105 people, and James Jones employs about 2,100 across its UK and Australasian sites. When a company that size commits £21m to one mill, it is a pretty clear signal about where it thinks UK timber demand is heading.
Why it matters if you don't work in a sawmill
Every sawmill line needs logs. Logs need harvesting teams, forwarder operators, hauliers, forest managers, planners and people replanting the ground afterwards. Investment at the processing end of the chain is what gives confidence to everyone further up it.
It also comes at a time when the sector is talking more seriously about home-grown timber. The new chair of the Forestry Commission, Baroness Barbara Young, has said that timber security should be treated with the same seriousness as food security. Mills like Mosstodloch are where that idea becomes something real.
There is a green angle too. The new building will be heated by biomass, the machinery is designed to use less energy, and the roof is set up for solar panels. Modern, safer and more efficient sites are also more attractive places to work, which ties neatly back to the conversations we have been having about keeping good people in the industry.
If you have ever thought about a career on the processing side of forestry, whether that is machine operation, maintenance, quality control or logistics, it is worth keeping an eye on the mills. They are not always the first thing people picture when they think of forestry jobs, but they are a big part of it and big employers in the sector.
Jack
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🔦 Jobs Spotlight 🔦
In this section, we highlight standout opportunities each week, including selected sponsored listings.
What?: Forest Manager
Where?: Dumfries, Scotland
How Much?: £Competitive + share ownership + benefits
What?: Land Stewardship Technical Support (Forestry)
Who?: Natural Resources Wales
Where?: Hybrid - based from one of NRW’s offices
How Much?: £33,755–£36,693
Forestry Fact Corner…
🌲 Around 1.42 million hectares of UK woodland is now independently certified as sustainably managed. That is about 43% of all the woodland in the UK, and it is a big part of why home-grown timber can be sold with confidence.
Interested in featuring a sponsored job listing in this newsletter? Email us at [email protected].