Growing talent in the lumber business

tTl"t LUMBER INDUSTRY is facing |- some stiff challenges: a significant loss of businesses during the recession, a rather low profile in the public eye, and the need to bring fresh ideas and new talent to the industry.

The North American Wholesale Lumber Association is working to address those challenges and create new opportunities through the newly formed NAWLA Education Foundation. The p.i-ary objective of the notfor-profit foundation is to seed growth in all sectors of the industry, by attracting a new generation of leaders and equipping them for success in building and managing sustainable businesses in the new green economy.

The first initiative funded by the NAWLA Education Foundation is a three-year pilot program to introduce career development programs to college students in every region of the U.S. The very first program of its kind begins this May with a career exploration workshop at Mississippi State University through its College of Forest Resources. Undergraduate and graduate students who attend the fiveday workshop will be introduced to the entire supply chain of the North American lumber industry and will then be linked to summer internships at a variety of companies, contributing in such areas as accounting and finance, marketing and sales, engineering and operations.

Gary Vitale, NAWLA president, sees benefits for the entire industryfrom timberland owners to the wholesale businesses NAWLA represents to the retail sector-in this effort to introduce young talent to the vast commercial and career opportunities in lumber.

"As an industry, we've advanced significantly in technology and improving the distribution channel," he observes. "But outside of our industry, young people are not familiar with the lumber business. They have no idea of the billions of dollars of commerce in lumber and the career opportunities available. This program is intended to educate students from a variety of majors on career options, give them hands-on experience through internships, and ultimately motivate them to make their careers in the lumber industry."

The NAWLA Education Foundation is working to identify a host university in each region to roll out the pilot program over the next three years. NAWLA has enlisted Dovetail Partners, a highly regarded think tank and educational resource specializing in the forestry and forest products sector, to work with each university to develop a career development program uniquely suited to its region's forestry assets and needs.

The pilot workshop at Mississippi State University draws upon its relationship to NAWLA through the Wood Basics course that has been offered for years, its strength in both forestry and business studies, and its accessibility to timberlands and mills.

Andy Ezell, professor and head of the Department of Forestry at Mississippi State, explains that the campus is located in the center of the "Wood Basket," which stretches from East Texas to North Carolina and from the Gulf to Tennessee. As a result, the campus boasts its own 8,000-acre forest, where it conducts forestry research, and stands in close proximity to mills and manufacturing and distribution operations.

Professor Ezell says the career workshop fills a big gap by introducing non-forestry students to the business opportunities in lumber and wood products. He believes that few people outside of the industry understand where wood comes from and how the supply chain turns tree seedlings into lumber, furniture, paper and thousands of other everyday items.

"This workshop provides an opportunity for our very best students on the business side," he notes."The wholesale lumber sector is probably the least known aspect of the business."

In addition to MBA students and business undergraduates, the program is designed to attract students from construction, engineering, design, environmental science, and other relevant majors.

The pilot Career Exploration Work- shop at Mississippi State includes both on-campus presentations and field trips:

Day I: The basics of forest ecology, management and certification, and a field trip to view forest management and harvest operations

Days 2 and 3: The business of lumber (products/manufacturing and the supply chain/distribution) and tours of state-of-the-art sawmills, lumber manufacturing facilities, and distribution centers

Day 4: Green building concepts and a field trip to see how a green building project incorporates sustainable wood products

Day 5: Ecosystem markets, a career panel, and the NAWLA internship program

The first workshop will set the stage for future workshops, but Vitale does not expect that the Mississippi State experience will be replicated exactly at other universities involved in the NAWLA program, due to the unique characteristics of the lumber business in each region.

Also under development is the internship program, which will be available to participants in the Career Exploration Workshop. For the first crop of students, NAWLA will be instituting a system to match each student's experience and interests with a participating company's need for interns, whether in wholesale lumber, timberlands, or retail operations.

"The career development program is intended to be an industry-wide initiative," says Vitale. "We anticipate attracting top, qualified students who will be motivated and excited to contribute to businesses within our industry. We encourage groups from every sector to contact us if they are interested in participating in the internship program."

The hope is that industry interest will grow as the program expands over the next three years. Still, the fledgling program is in the experimental stase. "We don't want to do too much too fast," Vitale explains. "We want to make sure we do it right."

- Chuck Thomas is president and founder of CT Creative (ctcreative.com), a Chicago-area strategic marketing firm focused on helping companies and organizations grow and thrive. In his work with NAWLA, he has overseen extensive market research and brand positioning for the lumber industry. Contact him at chuck@ ctcreative .com