UHI Inverness awards success for pilot forestry course that provides 'real route into industry'
An intensive five-week pilot course at the Scottish School of Forestry, UHI Inverness that provided the essential skills and certificates needed to enter the industry has won a national award.
Scottish School of Forestry (SSF)academic staff members Neil Cleland and Amanda Bryan were presented with the Building Industry Resilience Award for the Forestry Operations New Entrants Programme at the Confor Awards 2026 ceremony in Edinburgh.
The Forestry Operations New Entrants course was delivered at the UHI Inverness Balloch campus last spring in partnership with Scottish Woodlands, Aviva and Par Equity, which is part of PXN Group. It offered 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.
As well as tree planting, fencing, first aid and site surveying skills, the students also learned to handle specialist vehicles and machinery.
It took an innovative approach to attracting new people to the industry and was fully funded, provided a living wage allowance, equipment and protective gear, and the opportunity to network with potential employers.
The new course attracted more than 100 applicants for seven places. All seven students, covering a wide age range and from varied walks of life, received certificates at a presentation last April to mark the end of the pilot scheme. During that event they all spoke very highly of the lecturers and the course content.
One of the students is now studying at SSF, another is returning to study an HNC programme later this year and the others are working in the industry.
The course is running again this semester with 12 new students who were selected from a pool of 150 candidates.
Baroness Barbara Young of Old Scone, recently appointed chair of the Forestry Commission, presented the award which recognises projects and people taking action to futureproof the industry through innovation, education and collaboration.
The awards organisers described the Forestry Operations New Entrants programme as an innovative initiative for young people and career changers that tackled industry skill shortages and represented a powerful blend of expertise and investment.
Neil Cleland, Depute Curriculum Lead for Land and Science at UHI Inverness, said:
“We were up against a strong field, and I am delighted that we came through and were named the winners. The programme is a great example of partnership working to provide a wonderful opportunity for the foresters of the future starting on their career journey. I am very grateful to my colleagues who ran the course and to the partners for their support. It has proved to be a very popular and effective programme, and we are looking forward to running more of these in the future.”
The course is funded by Aviva Investors, supported by Par Equity, and the equipment is supplied by Scottish Woodlands.
Zoe Austin, Portfolio Manager at Aviva Investors said:
“We are incredibly proud to support initiatives such as the New Entrants programme and for it to have been recognised with this award is thoroughly well deserved. As an investor in several woodland creation and peatland restoration projects, our hope is that programmes like this can help to address skills shortages in the sector. This is crucial for realising forestry's full potential and showing how these schemes can deliver both long-term investment outcomes and social value.”
Tom Croy, Investment Director at Par Equity, part of PXN Group, said:
“This is a fantastic achievement and is the product of a real team effort. What started as a conversation about the skills gap in forestry has become something genuinely impactful - a fully-funded programme that's giving people a real route into the industry, and one that the wider sector is now looking at as a model for how to tackle workforce challenges. From sparking the original idea, to designing the curriculum, funding the programme, providing equipment and expertise, and delivering the training, everyone has played a part in making this work.”
The Confor Dinner and Awards recognise the efforts of inspirational individuals and organisations going above and beyond in the forestry and wood-using industry.