Job prospects Forest Firefighter in Alberta

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This occupation includes job titles whose primary duties and responsibilities lead to positive environmental outcomes. Job Bank uses a list of occupations that were identified as "green" through a task-based analysis conducted by the United States’ Occupational Information Network (O*NET), which was recognized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and adapted to the National Occupational Classification (NOC) in Canada. This list may change over time. Learn more.

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "forest firefighter" in Alberta or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Alberta

These outlooks were updated on December 11, 2024.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be limited for Silviculture and forestry workers (NOC 84111) in Alberta for the 2024-2026 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment decline will lead to the loss of some positions.
• Not many positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are several unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.
• Due to the seasonal nature of this occupation, employment opportunities tend to be more favourable during the summer months.

• Employment in forestry related professions continue to face challenges that affect stable job growth, such as difficulty accessing economic fibre and extreme weather.
• The Alberta government's Budget 2024 includes an additional $151 million over the next three years for wildfire preparedness, prevention, response and mitigation.
• Some areas of the province may see an increase in seasonal demand for workers due to wildfires.

Here are some key facts about Silviculture and forestry workers in Alberta:

• Approximately 700 people worked in this occupation in May 2021.
• Silviculture and forestry workers mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Forestry and logging (NAICS 113, 1153): 60%
  • Provincial and territorial public administration (NAICS 912): 15%
  • Wood product manufacturing (NAICS 321): 8%
  • Local, municipal, regional, aboriginal and other public administration (NAICS 913-919): 6%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 87% compared to 80% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 13% compared to 20% for all occupations
• 22% of silviculture and forestry workers work all year, while 78% work only part of the year, compared to 61% and 39% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 30 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• Less than 5% of silviculture and forestry workers are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 79% compared to 53% for all occupations
  • Women: 21% compared to 47% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 18% compared to 10% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 36% compared to 28% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 8% compared to 13% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 22% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 16% compared to 21% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 9% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Alberta by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology