HINCKLEY, Maine – The Mechanized Logging Operations and Forest Trucking Program, a unique hands-on training course that prepares students for careers in the logging industry, has begun its ninth year of classes at an active harvest site in central Maine.
The certificate program for operators of mechanized logging and forest trucking equipment will run for 20 weeks. Classes began June 23 on the Kennebec Valley Community College Alfond Campus on U.S. Route 201 in Hinckley and will run through Nov. 6. Students transitioned from classroom and forest instruction to equipment operation in late July.
“This program continues to address Maine’s shortage of qualified logging operators and forest truckers in an efficient and affordable way,” Dana Doran, executive director of the Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast, said. “There is no better opportunity for anyone interested in starting a career in the logging industry, and thanks to continued federal support due to the efforts of Maine’s congressional delegation, as well as the generosity of industry sponsors and supporters including the Bill and Joan Alfond Family Foundation and Skowhegan Savings Bank, students are able to access this training at little to no cost.”
The program is administered by Northern Maine Community College in partnership with the PLC and includes a strong emphasis on safety as well as giving students an understanding of the variables of timber growth, tree species, and markets. Students pay no tuition or fees. The program provides all personal protective equipment and scholarships from Skowhegan Savings Bank to assist with living expenses. Local housing is available at reduced cost to students who live beyond a reasonable commuting distance from the program thanks to support from the Bill and Joan Alfond Foundation.
The opportunity to earn a CDL-A permit and receive preparation for the state driving exam was a significant addition to the program in 2023 and has expanded opportunities for graduates while increasing benefits to Maine logging employers who need more mechanized logging operators and truck drivers.
Students in the program harvest timber and operate trucks using sophisticated state-of-the-art machines like those they will encounter in the logging industry. The hands-on experience students gain operating equipment is an opportunity unavailable anywhere else in Maine and neighboring states.
This project is funded 100 percent by a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The program was created in 2017 by the Maine Community College System, the PLC and industry partners. Dozens of graduates are working in Maine’s logging industry today, and the demand for additional equipment operators and truck drivers remains high due to the rapidly aging workforce in the logging industry.
Most logging in Maine now relies on mechanized equipment. The industry also relies almost exclusively on heavy trucks to move wood. With the majority of logging operators and forest truckers at or nearing retirement age, the demand for new workers in the logging industry is high and most students in the certificate program have had job offers before graduating.
Maine’s loggers are a vital part of the state’s forest products sector, which is worth an estimated $8.1 billion annually. Logging contributed an estimated $582 million to the state economy in 2021.
Founded in Maine in 1995 by a handful of loggers who were concerned about the future of the forest economy, the PLC has grown steadily to become a regional non-profit which provides independent logging and forest trucking contractors a voice along with a suite of other forest certification programs which are grounded in responsible forest management. Board membership consists of only loggers, making it an organization that is run by loggers on behalf of loggers Learn more about the PLC at www.plcloggers.org.
