Workforce training opportunities for hardwood sawmills and distribution yards are expanding in western North Carolina. Haywood Community College (HCC) in Waynesville, NC, has offered forestry and wood products manufacturing training for more than 50 years. While the programs have grown and contracted, the HCC Dean of Workforce Development Doug Burchfield presented growth plans recently to members of the Appalachian Lumbermen’s Club (ALC) at the club’s recent meeting in Asheville, NC.
The college has joined the Appalachian Hardwood Training Institute, which was established by a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission. Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Inc. (AHMI), Mountain Gateway Community College and Glenville State University were the recipients of the $1.4 million grant and have held dozens of training sessions in the past 18 months.
These offerings include OSHA Safety, commercial driving licensing, plant maintenance and electrical motors. There have also been National Hardwood Lumber Association lumber and log grading courses.
Burchfield said HCC is pleased to participate and will soon offer similar training. The college has more than 1,700 full-time and part-time students in 33 degree programs. These include a Forest Management Technology (FMT) associate degree that is accredited by the Society of American Foresters.
The ALC provides two scholarships to HCC students in FMT and the winners for 2024-25 were Jordan Jackson and Grant Bryant.
The next meeting of ALC is November 12, 2024 in Johnson City, TN, at The Carnegie Hotel.
For more information, visit www.lumberclub.org.
