The forest industry has a long history in Finland and forests are part of the Finnish identity. The forest industry is the largest export sector in Finland, and its products cover approximately 20% of the Finnish exports, which means that they are a significant source of income for the state. Therefore, this field is also highly international.
Forestry scientists have been educated in Finland since 1862. The studies are multi-disciplinary studies, which combine ecological, economical and technical aspects with forests. Part of the education takes place in the forest. If the forestry student incorporates certain modules to their degree, they can start using the honorary title Forester after graduating.
Approximately 80–100 forestry scientists graduate from the University of Helsinki and the University of Eastern Finland annually.
Sources of employment and examples of employers
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- Metsä Group
- Stora Enso
- UPM
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- Versowood
- Keitele Group
- Koskisen Oy
- Kotkamills
- Pölkky Oy
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- Tornator
- OTSO Metsäpalvelut
- Suomen metsäkeskus
- Tapio-konserni
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- Vapo
- L&T Biowatti
- Forest industry companies
- Energy companies
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- Arbonaut
- Tieto
- Indufor
- Niras
- Pöyry
- Ramboll
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- Nordea
- OP
- Danske Bank
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- Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment
- Natural Resources Institute Finland
- National Land Survey of Finland
- Metsähallitus
- Ministy of Agriculture and Forestry in Finland
- Ministry of the Environment
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- Forest management associations
- The Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK)
- Finnish Forest Industries
- Finnish Forest Association
- WWF
- ProAgria
- TTS
- Development cooperation organizations
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- Cities and municipalities
- University of Helsinki and University of Eastern Finland
- Vocational institutions, post-secondary education, universities of applied sciences
Phenomena in the field
- wood-based bioeconomy, wood as raw material and new products
- the role of forests in climate change, interest in forest resources and the diverse use of forests and their protection
- remote sounding and forest analytics, modelling
- growing demand for soft tissue paper and packaging material
- wood construction
- bioenergy-related solutions
Forestry scientists’ titles in Finnish job market
Employment and career opportunities
There are approximately 2,400 persons with a Master’s Degree in agriculture sciences and forestry in the labour market. Approximately 70 people are unemployed jobseekers, which means that the unemployment rate is lower than the average among Akava people: approximately 3%.
A significant proportion of forestry scientists are first employed as experts and then advance to supervisory and managerial tasks. Solutions related to the use of forests and bioenergy will most likely have an impact on the development of the job opportunities in the future.
Looking for a job?
We have listed the job adds in English in the field of forestry – check it out!