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Expanding Our Roots

Forests Minister Endorses UBC Wood Products Processing Degree

Dr. Peter Mulhern – UCFV, Sandy McKellar – WMC Minster de Jong – BC Ministry of Forests.

College students have unexpected guest in seminar class. November 19th, 2004 at the University College of the Fraser Valley, the Honourable Michael de Jong, BC Minister of Forests, joined Sandy McKellar of the Wood Manufacturing Council to talk to students about career opportunities in the forest products sector. Engineering Transfer students at the University College of the Fraser Valley spend a few hours each week learning about the various career opportunities open to them in the field of engineering. For the past seven years, their instructor, Dr. Peter Mulhern, has included a presentation on career opportunities in ‘wood engineering’ as part of the program. More than 30 students and several college administrators participated in this presentation.

The majority of students in the transfer program complete engineering degrees, but each year some are lured away from traditional engineering disciplines and transfer into the UBC Wood Products Processing (WPP) degree. Offering a suite of courses thatincludes industrial and mechanical engineering, this unique degree program applies these technologies to the manufacture of wood products. In combination with business, marketing, design and computer courses, the degree prepares graduates to work in Canada’s rapidly expanding advanced wood manufacturing sector. With a proven track record for abundant and well-paid jobs, the program boasts some of the highest entry level salaries of any Bachelor of Science degree, and has companies competing to hire graduates.

Minister de Jong emphasized the value of this kind of educational program, and talked about the long-term benefits of working in the forest products industry. The Minister engaged students in a friendly, low-key discussion. Sitting casually on the edge of a dlearning students’ names, and asking probing questions, he was abto draw out student concerns and fears about the sector and diffusmyths and misconceptions with balanced facts and examples. Students responded positively to his intimate approach and participated fully in the discussion.

Following the Minister’s talk, Sandy McKellar delivered a PowerPoint presentation to the class on the UBC Wood Products Processing degree. The discussion focused on changes in technology and accompanying changes in social attitudes and expectations. BC’s sustainable and environmentally responsible forest and business practices were showcased as some of the best in the world. McKellar emphasized career opportunities open to graduates of the WPP degree, and demonstrated how this educational pathway and the related career options paralleled similar avenues in engineering. In the final wrap-up, it was evident that the two presenters had given the class an attractive option to add to their future possibilities. When asked how many had considered careers in the forest products sector prior to the presentation, not a single hand was raised. At the end of the session, after learning about the strength of the industry and the career potential for graduates coming out of the WPP program, more than half the class indicated that this was definitely an area they would consider pursuing.

Sandy McKellar
Director of Communications
Wood Manufacturing Council

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