Recruiter says timber jobs are available, but not here

A recruiter for timber jobs said last week that jobs are available in the industry, but they’re generally not in Montana. George Meek is a professional recruiter for the industry and runs the web site www.TopWoodJobs.com.

He said after he heard about the layoffs at the Columbia Falls Weyerhaeuser plant, he sent out a mass mailing to 300 employees advertising his services. He doesn’t charge job seekers, he’s paid by employers to find people.

Meek knows the industry well. He used to work at Plum Creek in the 1990s as an electrician, straight out of high school.

“Plum Creek gave me the opportunity I have today,” he said.

Meek has recruited former Plum Creek employees. He said currently there’s a high demand for skilled laborers, and even operators in some cases.

“We have a skilled labor shortage across the U.S.,” he said.

The shortage is caused by aging baby boomers, who are slowly, but surely retiring. The boomers, in turn, urged their children to get college degrees. But skilled labor doesn’t always require a college degree, at least not a traditional four-year degree, he noted.

He said what’s needed is high school graduates who are good working with their hands and are willing to go through some vocational training.

“We need to quit telling kids they’re not going to be successful if they don’t go to college,” he said.

Having said that, Meek gave some advice for workers that have laid off. If they have a good skill set, they should start a LinkedIn profile, which will help get them connected to other people in the field.

In addition, they have to be prepared to move. The East Coast in particular has a lot of jobs in the timber industry, particularly in the south, where trees grow twice as fast as they do here.

The jobs are out there.

Laborers can make $16 to $18 an hour and skilled workers make much more, with jobs ranging from $70,000 to $100,000-plus for supervisory positions. Meek currently is advertising positions for a mill in Wyoming and other jobs in North Carolina, California and several other states.

Another online resource is http://www.findaforestryjob.com.

Even Weyerhaeuser has jobs. It’s website lists about 90 jobs — most are in the Pacific Northwest as well as Canada.