Representatives from Forestry Tasmania, Timberlands, John Deere Forestry Australasia, Hitachi, Caterpillar and many more organisations attended the event. 

The Global Financial Crisis hit the forestry industry hard, with many workers moving to mining or the mainland for work, Timberlands Pacific director and Arbre Forest Industries Training & Career Hub chairman, Darrell Clark said.  

“Now the industry is stepping up and we are in growth phase,” Mr Clark said.

With demand on the rise, the industry has struggled to get “skilled labour” back into the forestry sector.

The Arbre Forest Industries Training & Career Hub will act as a virtual training centre for people looking for a career in the forestry industry. 

Experts were able to test out their skills on the training simulators. 

The industry has faced some major challenges in the last decade, 

“We are very good at growing trees, environmentally we have some of the best practices in the world but we’ve got to be better at selling that,” Mr Gutwein said.

The technology inside the hub aims to provide all sorts of opportunities to young people. 

Arbre Forest Industries Training and Careers Hub has a strong link to University Tasmania to ensure there are clear pathways for students.