FAIRFIELD – The Mechanized Logging Operations and Forest Trucking Program, a unique 20-week certificate course providing unmatched training and preparation for careers in logging and forest trucking, is now underway for its eighth straight year.
The program is an expanded version of the original logging operations certificate program created in 2017 by the Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast, the Maine Community College System, and industry partners, that now includes Commercial Driver’s License training.
The MLOFT program is being hosted by Kennebec Valley Community College at its Alfond Campus on U.S. Route 201 but is administered by Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle.
A dozen students began classwork and safety training in late June at the Alfond Campus before progressing to hands-on training with mechanized logging machines at an active timber harvest on the campus in late July.
“This remains the only program of its kind in our region, and it is critical to addressing Maine’s shortage of qualified logging operators and forest truckers in an efficient and affordable way,” PLC Executive Director Dana Doran said. “We could not offer this unique opportunity to students without the support of Maine’s Congressional delegation, which secured Congressional Directed Spending support for it, or our industry partners, who ensure we have the equipment to offer a top notch training experience.”
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 enrolled in the post-secondary training 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 and will prepare them for in-demand careers with logging contractors throughout the state of Maine. A report released by the University of Southern Maine in 2019 forecast up to 2,000 positions in timber harvesting and trucking will be available over the next decade.
The program 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, and the program provides all personal protective equipment.
Approximately 95 percent of 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 near retirement age, the demand for new workers in the logging industry is high and most students in the previous certificate program have had job offers before graduating.
Anyone with an interest in the program should contact Holly Grant at Northern Maine Community College at 207-768-2856 or visit www.nmcc.edu to apply. Additional information may be found online at plcloggers.org
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 1995 by loggers who were concerned about the future of the logging and forest trucking industry, the PLC has grown steadily to become a regional trade association which provides independent logging contractors and truckers in the Northeast a voice in the rapidly changing forest products industry. 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.
