2013

New cooperation programme for providers of forestry services

After analysing the company’s opportunities and collating cooperation partners’ opinions and proposals, JSC Latvia’s State Forests has developed a programme for improving cooperation with forestry service providers. Its introduction will improve the quality of forestry efforts, and forestry service providers will be able to earn more for a job well done.

Structured forestry work will be introduced for cooperation partners to improve labour resource planning. Such tasks as forest planting, agro-technically tending renewed forest areas, maintaining forest infrastructure systems, tending young forest stands, pruning growing trees, preparing soil and facilitating natural forest regeneration could be combined in several sets of forestry tasks.

JSC Latvia’s State Forests Silviculture Executive Director Edmunds Linde: “In the 2014 forestry work procurement, the offer will be to sign five-year contracts on providing services. Entrepreneur initiatives in educating their employees within the framework of the professional development programme will play a decisive role in launching or continuing cooperation. When assessing offers for tending young forest stands and agro-technically renewed forest areas, bonus points will be given to cooperation partners able to confirm the completion of the professional development programme by their employees. If entrepreneurs, as a result of the 2014 forestry work procurement, gain rights to long-term cooperation, involving employees who have not mastered the professional development programme, contract provisions will include employee training within a year’s time after contract signing. This provision was also included in long-term contracts signed this year and its implementation control on site will begin on January 1, 2014.”

The provision of completing the professional development programme will not be included in contracts signed for less than a year.

The required knowledge is gained through studying materials on the Internet. The final test is taken at an education institution after the completion of the study programme. A certificate and diploma, confirming the completion of the study program, are handed out afterwards.

Additional information on the professional development program, matching the company’s requirements, and applications can be found on the homepages of Ogre State Technical College (www.ovt.lv) and Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Institute (www.e-koks.lv).