The value of education can’t be overstated. That includes the value of trades as much as it does the value of university. I have a trade; I first learned to be a locksmith before starting university. If times get tough, I can always return to locksmithing or a life of crime to support my family. Many lumber graders could do the same thing. But it is more than just a backup plan; trade is a base to build off of or to remain firmly on. Trades offer immediate returns by equipping you with unique skills that can lead to higher earnings compared to those with only a high school diploma.
Many people in the trades don’t have a university education, and that’s okay—their skills and experience often more than compensate for formal classes. Those who do go on to university, as I did, will find that learning and working in a trade gives them a unique perspective. Tradesmen and tradeswomen get firsthand experience that gives them a greater understanding of business as they experience the impacts of decisions on costs, services, and the value of goods, which is more real than a classroom theory. I remember university teachers talking about how all businesses work off of a Return on Investment (ROI) calculation, and that is true, but in real life, most decisions are loosely based on ROI but are ultimately decided on by human factors.
Decisions at work are constantly influenced by emotions, feelings, time of day, mood, pride, desire, ease, frustration, anger, and many other factors—whether it’s to avoid conflict, manage capital scarcity, gain market share, or shape perceptions. This doesn’t mean ROI is irrelevant; it’s just not the only consideration. While ROI is a key factor in major purchases, it’s often overlooked in smaller, day-to-day decisions. But do staff consistently consider ROI? Every board a lumber grader flips is an ROI decision. Understanding the grade and its value is crucial to making choices that directly impact your bottom line. You wouldn’t sell a Ferrari for the price of a Prius. But you would sell a FAS board with a No. 2 or No. 3 Common. Think of it the other way around. Would you want a Prius in your order of Ferraris? Yet many would stick a No. 2 in a bundle of FAS.
The NHLA Inspector Training School (ITS) is the best place to get an education on the hardwood lumber trade. There are online options, short courses, and in-house training, too. But having a trained grader increases your ROI. A good grader is worth the ROI of sending them to the NHLA ITS and training them. If they stick around and grade lumber for you for years, that is great, but if they get promoted or leave and go on to other jobs, that is also great. You got them there while they were happy and productive and covered your ROI.
When I showed up to my undergraduate wood classes, in my locksmithing uniform and jacket, I could talk about wood doors, value added, and business in ways that were foreign to every other student. To this day, I still pick locks, fix doors, and look at all the lumber I see. When people ask me for career advice, I tell them to get a trade and then go to university and study wood. The possibilities in wood are endless. You can live in almost any state, travel the world, stay close to the office, deal with people, or hang out in the forest. Most people don’t know that there are 10 universities in the USA that offer Wood science degrees. That is why they are banding together with a new website, www.woodisbest.org, to promote their programs.
Auburn – Sustainable Biomaterials & Packaging
University of Idaho – Forest & Sustainable Products
University of Maine – Sustainable Materials and Technology
Michigan Tech – Sustainable Bioproducts
Mississippi State – Sustainable Bioproducts
North Carolina State – Sustainable Materials and Technology
Oregon State – Wood Innovation for Sustainability
Purdue – Sustainable Biomaterials (Concentration)
Virginia Tech – Sustainable Biomaterials
West Virginia – Wood Science & Technology
Having a wood science degree from the University of British Columbia, I can attest that it makes a difference. It is critical to who I am today and has impacted my career more than I can ever repay. But many miss out on these opportunities because they don’t know about these programs. We need to tell our story to more people so that ITS and these universities can get more students. Why Knot get trades and school, not just trade school or school?
