Job prospects Forester in Ontario

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

Job opportunities in Ontario

These outlooks were updated on November 29, 2023.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be moderate for Forestry professionals (NOC 21111) in Ontario for the 2023-2025 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment is expected to remain relatively stable.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What Types of Employers Are Out There?

• Support activities for the forestry sector
• Public administration, mostly at the municipal level
• Electric power generation, transmission and distribution

What are the Main Trends Affecting Employment?

• Provincial laws, such as the requirement for regeneration of harvested Crown lands
• Increasing focus on growing and adopting sustainable forest management practices, addressing climate change and expanding urban forestry

What Skills Do I Need to Succeed?

• To work in professional forestry, individuals must be a Registered Professional Forester (R.P.F) and obtain full membership status with the regulatory body, the Ontario Professional Foresters Association (OPFA)
  • Limited work may be performed as an Associate member of the OPFA

What Other Information Will I Find Helpful?

• Most of the workforce in this occupation, and economic activity in the forestry sector are in northern Ontario.

Here are some key facts about Forestry professionals in Ontario:

• Approximately 650 people worked in this occupation in May 2021.
• Forestry professionals mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Forestry and logging and fishing, hunting and trapping (NAICS 113, 114, 1153): 34%
  • Local, municipal, regional, aboriginal and other public administration (NAICS 913-919): 19%
  • Utilities (NAICS 22): 12%
  • Architectural, engineering and design services (NAICS 5413): 11%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 91% compared to 81% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 9% compared to 19% for all occupations
• 76% of forestry professionals work all year, while 24% work only part of the year, compared to 63% and 37% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 46 weeks compared to 43 weeks for all occupations.
• 27% 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: 81% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 19% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 9% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 6% compared to 25% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 6% compared to 8% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 20% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 48% compared to 24% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 20% compared to 13% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Ontario by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

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

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