Job prospects Forester in Alberta

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "forester" in Alberta or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Alberta

These outlooks were updated on December 11, 2024.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be limited for Forestry professionals (NOC 21111) in Alberta for the 2024-2026 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment decline will lead to the loss of some positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

Here are some key facts about Forestry professionals in Alberta:

• Approximately 450 people worked in this occupation in May 2021.
• Forestry professionals mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Forestry and logging (NAICS 113, 1153): 35%
  • Wood product manufacturing (NAICS 321): 22%
  • Other professional, scientific and technical services (NAICS 5414, 5416-5419): 10%
  • Architectural, engineering and design services (NAICS 5413): 8%
  • Paper manufacturing (NAICS 322): 7%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 93% compared to 80% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 7% compared to 20% for all occupations
• 76% of forestry professionals work all year, while 24% work only part of the year, compared to 61% and 39% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 46 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• 18% of forestry professionals are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 67% compared to 53% for all occupations
  • Women: 33% compared to 47% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 10% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: less than 5% compared to 28% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 6% compared to 13% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 13% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 57% compared to 21% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 18% compared to 9% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Alberta by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Job prospects elsewhere in Canada

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "forester" Forestry professionals (NOC 21111) or across Canada.

Learn more