ALC Hears Career Placement, Tariff Updates
Appalachian hardwood companies seeking employees have a job placement service available for forestry, electrical, welders and more from a Virginia school. Members of the Appalachian Lumbermen’s Club (ALC) heard details during a meeting at The Hotel Roanoke in Roanoke, VA.
Career Services Coordinator Rob Cantrell from Mountain Gateway Community College presented details about the placement programs for Appalachian sawmills and secondary manufacturers. The college is located in Clifton Forge, VA, and offers assistance connecting employees to students and graduates.
MGCC was founded in 1962 and has an associate degree in forestry but also offers degrees and certificates in welding, electrical, safety training for OSHA compliance and CDL truck driver training.
Cantrell said the college recently received a new dry kiln from Nyle that will help students learn how to properly dry hardwood lumber. It also has an operating sawmill and complete forestry cruising courses.
There were more than a dozen training workshops for the spring semester for employers to send staff. These are listed on the college’s website, mgcc.edu.
The ALC sponsors scholarships at the college and the 2025 recipients were announced at the meeting. Jordan Jackson who attended Brunswick Academy in South Hill, VA, and Grant Bryant, who attended Ridgeview Christian School in Rockbridge, VA, won the forestry scholarships.
Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Inc. President Tom Inman also provided an update on tariffs on logs and lumber. He explained President Trump’s recent action to address the threat to national security from imports of timber and lumber.
The March 1 action states the wood products industry, composed of timber, lumber, and their derivative products (such as paper products, furniture, and cabinetry) is a critical manufacturing industry essential to the national security, economic strength and industrial resilience of the United States. This industry plays a vital role in key downstream civilian industries, including construction.
Trump directed the Secretary of Commerce to initiate an investigation under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act to determine the effects on the national security of imports of timber, lumber, and their derivative products.
The next meeting of the ALC is the Spring Beach Meeting on May 1-4 in North Myrtle Beach, SC.
More information is available at lumberclub.org.
