Four people have completed a specialist forestry training programme at Coleg Cambria’s Llysfasi campus, gaining practical skills and qualifications to help them pursue careers in the industry.

The four-week course is part of the Foresight Sustainable Forestry Skills Training Programme, delivered through a partnership between forestry business Tilhill Forestry, investment manager Foresight Group and the college.

Now in its fifth cohort, the programme aims to help address the need for skilled workers in the forestry sector by providing participants with practical experience and recognised qualifications.

Training included pesticide application, tractor driving, woodchipper operation and all-terrain vehicle (ATV) handling. Participants also completed emergency first aid training with a forestry-specific element and received personal protective equipment needed to work safely.

The course was delivered by Tilhill Forestry, college staff and external trainers and assessors, giving participants the opportunity to develop skills relevant to working in the industry.

Elin Roberts, Head of Coleg Cambria Llysfasi, said reaching the fifth cohort was an important milestone for the partnership.

She said forestry was an evolving industry that needed skilled workers with the practical experience and qualifications to make an immediate contribution.

Working with employers and industry specialists allowed the college to create opportunities for people from communities across Wales, she added.

Iwan Parry, Regional Manager for Wales and the Marches at Tilhill Forestry, said the programme was helping prepare future generations of forestry workers with the skills needed to support the sector.

He said forests played an important role in Wales’s environment and economy, making it vital that workers were equipped to meet the opportunities and challenges facing the industry.

Murray Aitchison, Portfolio Manager at Foresight Group, said the programme was helping more people gain forestry skills and could contribute to developing a sustainable timber industry in the UK.

The latest training course comes as Llysfasi continues to invest in its facilities and expand its role in land-based education.

The campus is home to the £10 million Hwb Arloesi Innovation Hub, a carbon-neutral facility providing laboratories, classrooms, higher education and wellbeing spaces, a library and climbing wall.

Work is also under way on new student accommodation providing 50 bedrooms. The development will complement the campus’s working farm, forestry and conservation areas, engineering workshops and specialist machinery.

Ms Roberts said partnerships with industry remained central to ensuring the college’s teaching, facilities and investment reflected the needs of employers and the rural economy.