Award-winning forestry course launches students straight into jobs

An award-winning short course at Scottish School of Forestry, UHI Inverness is celebrating outstanding success after all 12 students passed and many stepped straight into industry jobs.

The students - Simon Baker, Sam Dean, Ross Jordan, Robert Johnstone, Raphael Borzak, Rachel McDowall, Phil Envis, Julien St Clair, Gary Whyte, Gail Mackenzie, Camryn Stewart and Clara Browne - were selected on the popular Forestry Operations New Entrants course from a large field of 150 applicants.

They recently gathered at a certificate presentation at Balloch campus to celebrate the end of the course, and met with eight forestry employers to explore career progression opportunities.

Rachel secured employment with Acer Forestry and started work tree planting the following day, while a number of others received offers of work for over the summer.

Gary has subsequently secured a contract with Community Woodland in Invergarry for a modern apprenticeship through the Scottish School of Forestry.

Rachel McDowall (28) from Alness, a former supermarket employee, was unemployed when she applied for a place on the course to fulfil her ambition to work outdoors.

Through her new employment with Acer Forestry she is applying the knowledge and skills she learned on the course by offering a tree planting service.

Rachel found the lecturers to be passionate and supportive, and she particularly enjoyed the all-terrain vehicle training, tree identification and the opportunity to network and make connections with industry employers, which was encouraged as part of the course.

“Everything about the school of forestry – the staff, the students and atmosphere is uplifting. It’s an excellent working environment where I have made great connections with the lecturers and other participants," said Rachel.

Julien St Clair and Clara Browne

Julien St Clair (24) from Edinburgh found out about the course when he attended a UHI Inverness open day, but was worried he would not feel comfortable in an academic setting due to being homeschooled. However, the excellent support he received from staff helped remove a lot of his anxiety.

Before he started this course, he was in a 10-month paid part-time conservation and countryside management traineeship. He found the five-week programme at UHI Inverness allowed him to gain valuable skills and experience without a long commitment. 

“Everyone in the course loves what they do and shared their passion with each other to encourage each other to be the best version of themselves," said Julien,

“The lecturers were very intuitive and adapted learning styles for the participants. I gained excellent industry connections as part of this course. I have been offered a trial that may lead to a potential job offer until January, when I plan to start a Level 5 forestry course at the Scottish School of Forestry.”

The students came from a variety of backgrounds including acting, art and physics and four are involved in a Community Woodland Project, which involves them undergoing training in community woodlands including Abriachan, Glengarry and Culduthel.

Ross, Robert and Rachel

The course was introduced last year to offer industry-recognised units and tickets in a number of skills to help students progress in the industry, move on to further forestry courses or set up new businesses. It is delivered in partnership with Scottish Woodlands, and Aviva and Par Equity, which are part of PXN Group.

It won the Building Industry Resilience Award at the Confor Awards 2026 ceremony in Edinburgh which recognises projects taking action to futureproof the industry through innovation, education and collaboration.

Neil Cleland, Depute Curriculum Lead for Land and Science at UHI Inverness, teaches on the course. 

“In a very short space of time, this course has been recognised nationally within the sector as an extremely popular and effective route to introducing enthusiastic learners to the industry. The fact 150 people applied for 12 places and completing students are stepping into employment straight away, speaks volumes for the need for industry partners and educators to work together to offer innovative opportunities to open doors for new forestry professionals," said Neil.

“I want to thank our partners, my colleagues and the students for helping to ensure that this year’s programme came to a very successful conclusion. I also want to give a special thank you to Gail Mackenzie for baking an amazing cake to celebrate the end of the course.”

Shireen Chambers MBE, Chief Executive, Future Woodlands Scotland, said:

“Community woodlands deliver real benefits for people and nature, but many face skills and capacity challenges. Future Woodlands Scotland is proud to be part of this award winning programme and, with support from bp, to fund four trainees based in community managed woodlands in Inverness and the Great Glen. These traineeships give people practical, on the ground experience while helping local woodlands gain the skills they need for the future."

Find out more about the UHI Inverness forestry courses: Scottish School of Forestry - UHI Inverness