Forestry-Related Educational Needs of Innovative Ohio Sawmill Operators

Thirty-two innovative Ohio sawmill operators were surveyed to assess perceived "job importance" and their "current knowledge" of 67 job-related skills divided into 6 subject areas. The discrepancy or gap between importance and knowledge scores was used to compute perceived educational need scores for the skills, 21 of which are highlighted in this paper. Although the subject area of "sawmill production" was ranked first by sawmill operators in both importance and knowledge, the areas of "environmental awareness" and "forest product marketing" had the highest perceived educational need. Seventy-five percent of the forests-related skills received "high" importance scores; however, with the exception of "maintaining an adequate log supply," forestry-related skills ranked in or near the bottom-half of all skills in perceived educational need. Sawmillers rated their knowledge of forestry-related skills such as "understanding the benefits of TSI" higher than their knowledge level of skills such as "exporting lumber" and "developing new wood products." Recommendations are given for field foresters to assist them in initiating a meaningful dialogue with sawmill operators to help bridge the often-encountered communication gap between sawmiller, forester, and NIPF landowner. North. J. Appl. For. 13(3):135-139.