Career Map: Forester

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Access to the Foresters Profession in Ontario

This career map was updated in June 2011. The information in this career map is a summary of information available on the OPFA website. Please visit the Association’s website at for the most detailed and current information about applying for membership.

Copyright in this career map is held jointly by the Queen’s Printer for Ontario and the Ontario Professional Foresters Association, © 2011. This career map may be used or reproduced by any third party for non-commercial, not-for-profit purposes, as long as no fee, payment or royalty of any kind is charged by the third party for any further use or reproduction of the career map by any person. Any proposed commercial or for-profit use or reproduction of this career map requires a written licence from the Queen’s Printer for Ontario and the Ontario Professional Foresters Association.

This career map is for internationally educated forestry professionals. Forestry is a regulated profession in Ontario. You must be a certified member of the Ontario Professional Foresters Association (OPFA) to work as a professional forester in Ontario. This career map describes the requirements you need to meet to become a certified member of OPFA and the steps involved in the certification process.

The Ontario Professional Foresters Association (OPFA)

Professional Forestry

Ontario’s landscape is characterized by its forests. Trees range from the leafy hardwood species of the Deciduous region in southern Ontario to the softwood conifer species of the Boreal region in the north. About two-thirds of the province, or 70.4 million hectares, is covered by forest. About 90 percent of these forests are on Crown land, which means they are owned by the government of Ontario.

Professional foresters work for federal, provincial and municipal governments to manage, maintain and administer government-owned forested lands, including Crown land, city parks, and conservation areas. They also work for private companies in the pulp and paper, lumber and other wood product industries; in forestry research and education; and for biotechnology companies, tree nurseries, consulting companies, and not-for-profit organizations.

The modern forester must have a holistic view of the forest. Foresters consider wildlife, fires, insect and disease reduction, aesthetics, recreation, water protection, and other aspects of the environment as part of their work. Ontario’s professional foresters are committed to the development, conservation, sustainability and responsible management of Ontario’s forest resources.

The Ontario Professional Foresters Association

The Ontario Professional Foresters Association is the governing body for professional foresters in Ontario. It protects the public by ensuring that Ontario foresters work with high professional standards and demonstrate ethical behaviour in accordance with the Professional Foresters Act, 2000 and the Act’s regulations, and with the OPFA’s Code of Ethics and bylaws.

All professional forestry work in Ontario must be done by a certified member of the OPFA or under the supervision of a certified member of the OPFA. You can do some types of entry-level forestry work without a licence (certification), if a professional forester certified by OPFA supervises and takes responsibility for your work. However, you cannot use the title “Registered Professional Forester” or the initials “R.P.F.” unless you are a certified member of OPFA.

Currently, OPFA has about 850 members, including retired foresters, working forestry professionals, and inactive foresters working in other kinds of jobs. OPFA certifies professional foresters for practice only within Ontario. For information about forestry associations in other Canadian provinces, please visit the website for the Canadian Forestry Accreditation Board.

For more information about how to become a licensed professional forester in Ontario, contact:

Ontario Professional Foresters Association
5 Wesleyan Street, Unit 201
Georgetown, ONL7G 2E2
Tel: 905-877-3679
Fax: 905-877-6766
Email: opfa@opfa.ca
www.opfa.ca

Requirements for Membership and Certification

To qualify for membership with OPFA and certification as a Registered Professional Forester, you must:

• Be of good character;
• Be at least 18 years old;
• Complete a four-year, science-based Bachelor’s degree, or the equivalent;
• Meet the competency requirements;
• Complete at least 18 months of acceptable forestry work experience after graduation; and
• Pass the Ontario Forest Policy and Administration exam.

If you do not meet the requirements for full membership with OPFA, but you have extensive experience in some aspect of professional forestry (typically, ten or more years), you may qualify as an associate member. As an associate member, the professional forestry work you are permitted to do is limited in scope, and you cannot use the title “Registered Professional Forester.” However, you would be certified to practice within the limited scope and be able to take advantage of the benefits of membership, including:

• Access to professional, business and social networks;
• An annual business and educational conference;
• Specially designed insurance programs;
• Quarterly issues of the official OPFA publication, The Professional Forester;
• Job postings on the OPFA website;
• Technical information via practice bulletins; and
• Leadership development opportunities through volunteering and being actively involved with OPFA’s programs and activities.

Language Proficiency Requirement

You do not need to pass a language proficiency examination to qualify for membership with OPFA. However, to complete the application process and meet the work experience requirement, you will need advanced communication skills in English. Strong communication and interpersonal skills are critical for employment as a professional forester in Ontario.

If you need to upgrade your English communication skills, English-as-a-second-language (ESL) classes are offered throughout Ontario by community-based organizations as well as by local school boards, colleges and universities. To find out about English-as-a-second-language courses in your community, visit the Services Near Me section of the Settlement.org website.

Steps to Membership and Certification

Step 1) Complete the Self-Assessment Portion of the Self-Assessment Tool

The self-assessment tool is available through the OPFA website. It lists in detail the minimum competencies that you need to have to work successfully as a professional forester in Canada. The competencies cover seven areas of professional forestry work:

• Tree and stand dynamics;
• Forest to landscape: structure, function and dynamics;
• Forest management;
• Economics and administration of forestry;
• Leadership skills: communication and critical reasoning;
• Information acquisition and analysis; and
• Professionalism and ethics.

There are two components to completing the self-assessment tool. In the first component, self-assessment, you are simply asked to indicate the competencies you believe you have. This is the portion of the tool you should complete now, as your first step. You should do this before you come to Ontario, if possible.

The second component asks you to provide proof or evidence that you meet each competency and its performance standard. If you decide to proceed with applying to the OPFA for membership, you will need to complete this portion of the tool at a later time. Here are some examples of the kinds of evidence you might provide:

• Agendas for presentations or workshop events that you successfully completed or where you presented;
• Field camp course outlines;
• Forest management plans;
• Other plans, reports, documents, and work products; these might include community wildfire protection plans, pest management plans, stewardship plans, land use plans, proposals, final project reports, etc.;
• Training materials that you developed or delivered;
• Your professional development plans;
• Research reports;
• Professional development reviews from your employers;
• Performance evaluation reports from your employers;
• Job descriptions of jobs you have held.

You can also cross-reference the competencies in the tool with evidence provided in your resumé, academic transcripts, university course descriptions, and any other supporting material. When using this type of evidence, it is not enough to show that you completed courses. You need to show that you are able to use the knowledge you have gained to perform the duties and responsibilities described by the competency.

You can see an example of a completed section of a self-assessment tool at the OPFA website.

Before you start the process of applying for membership with OPFA, you are encouraged to complete the self-assessment portion only of the self-assessment tool. By doing this, you will gain a good understanding of your professional competencies and any gaps in your knowledge and skills that you would need to fill in order to qualify for membership with OPFA.

Step 2) Contact the OPFA Regarding Your Interest in Applying for Membership

Once you have completed the self-assessment portion of the self-assessment tool, and you have decided you would like to proceed with the application process, you are encouraged to contact the OPFA and speak with a staff person about your self-assessment and your interest in applying for membership. You can do this by telephone or email. Contact information can be found on page 2.

Step 3) Have Your Academic Credentials Evaluated

Your next step is to have your international academic credentials evaluated by a third-party evaluation service. You should do this before you come to Canada, if possible. You need to arrange to have your official university transcripts evaluated by either the Comparative Education Service at the University of Toronto or by World Education Services Canada. These organizations investigate the qualifications of your educational institution and make a determination about whether your university degree is equivalent to a four-year, science-based degree offered by a Canadian university. The evaluation agency will send an evaluation report directly to OPFA. The assessment usually takes about a week.

If the credential evaluation service determines that your degree is not equivalent to that offered by a Canadian university, you can:

• Complete a four-year Bachelor degree with an accredited forestry program at a Canadian university; visit the website of the Canadian Forestry Accreditation Board for a list of accredited university forestry programs in Canada;
• Demonstrate to OPFA that you have the required knowledge and competencies to qualify for membership; (the OPFA will give you guidance on how you can go about doing this); or
• Apply for associate membership with OPFA.

Step 4) Submit Your Application to OPFA

Your next step is to download the application form from the OPFA website and complete it as fully as you can. Then email your application to OPFA together with a detailed resumé outlining your work experience. See the Fees and Costs section of this career map for the applicable fees. You can make your payment either by cheque or a Visa or Master Card credit card number.

Step 5) Submit Your Academic Credentials to OPFA

Your next step is to ask your educational institution(s) to send an official sealed transcript of your grades for all degree programs you have completed directly to the OPFA office. At the same time, you should request official course descriptions. (If your university has detailed online descriptions in English of the courses you completed, you do not need to also provide hard copies.) If your transcripts or course descriptions are not in English, you also need to provide OPFA with translations. To find a certified translator in Ontario, visit the website of the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO). OPFA requires original transcripts and original translations with proof of the translator’s certification.

Step 6) Complete Your Application Portfolio

Next, you need to complete your application portfolio package by sending to OPFA the following:

• Completed self-assessment tool (with completed evidence portion);
• Completed witness feedback forms; ask your witnesses to email their completed forms directly to OPFA;
• Applicant declaration; and
• Portfolio assessment fee; visit the Fees and Costs section of this career map for the applicable fee; you can make your payment with a cheque or a Visa or Master Card credit card number.

All documents must be submitted by email in PDF format. You can submit these documents either before or after you settle in Ontario.

For complete details about assembling your application portfolio, read the Handbook for Applicants, available through the OPFA website.

a) Complete the Self-Assessment Tool

While you are completing the evidence portion of your self-assessment tool, you will have access to an advisor from OPFA who will be available to answer your questions and provide any assistance you need.

You can see an example of a completed section of a self-assessment tool through the OPFA website.

b) Arrange to Have Witness Feedback Forms Completed

Two types of witnesses must sign off on your application portfolio. The first type is a "character witness" who can attest to your good character and reputation. You need to have three character witnesses.

The second type of witness is called a "competency witness." This witness can speak for your ability to perform the competencies defined in the self-assessment tool. Each competency must be initialed by at least one competency witness. Therefore, you may have a number of different competency witnesses. A witness can act as both a character and competency witness. The best witnesses are professional foresters from Canada or from your country. However, as long as your witnesses are familiar with the competency that they are attesting to, they can have professional backgrounds.

You need to provide all of your witnesses with a witness feedback form. All of your witnesses must complete this form and send it by email directly to the OPFA.

c) Write your Applicant Declaration

In your applicant declaration, you have the opportunity to explain in your own words why you should be accepted for membership with OPFA and for registration as a Professional Forester. Your declaration gives the assessment panel and the OPFA’s registration committee an overview of your professional competence. Your declaration should be no more than two pages, single-spaced; you can ask a colleague or one of your witnesses to help you with editing and proofreading.

A sample applicant declaration is included in the Handbook for Applicants, available through the OPFA website.

Assessment of Application Portfolio

Once OPFA has received all of the documents that make up your application portfolio, it will forward these documents to an assessment panel consisting of three or more volunteer assessors. The assessors will be either practising forestry professionals or instructors in university forestry programs. The panel of assessors will review your documents and evaluate your qualifications, knowledge, skills, and abilities and will send a report to the OPFA outlining your strengths and any gaps in your professional competencies.

Assessment panels meet in October and April each year. OPFA will advise you of the result of the panel’s assessment of your application portfolio.

Appeals

If you are not satisfied with the panel’s assessment of your application portfolio, you can request a) a targeted competency reassessment, which will reassess only specific competencies and requires you to provide additional information in support of the reassessment, or b) a complete reassessment of your application portfolio by a new assessment panel. You do not have to provide additional information for this reassessment. Please note that you need to pay an additional fee for both types of reassessment. Fees are set out in the Fees and Costs section of this career map.

Step 7) Participate in an Interview

Once the OPFA receives the competency assessment report from the assessment panel, you will be invited to participate in a personal interview with one or more members of the OPFA staff or Registration Committee. Your interview may be conducted in person, by telephone, or via Internet conferencing tools. The purpose of the interview is to provide the OPFA with an opportunity to seek clarification of your competencies, to discuss your options with regard to meeting identified gaps in your competencies, and to explain your next steps towards membership and certification.

Step 8) Meet the Competency Requirements

After reviewing the competency assessment report from the assessment panel and speaking with you in a personal interview, OPFA will decide if you meet the competency requirements for membership and certification. If you need to fill any gaps in your competencies, OPFA will work with you to develop a strategy to fill these gaps. This could involve completing additional university courses, passing OPFA examinations, and/or acquiring specific work experience. You have five years from the date you are notified about the missing competencies to gain them.

During the period you are working to meet the competency requirements, you are considered a provisional member of OPFA. You are required to follow the Code of Ethics and other OPFA standards; however, you may not practice independently as a forestry professional during this period.

Step 9) Meet the Experience Requirement

To qualify for registration with OPFA and certification as a Registered Professional Forester, you need to have 18 months of acceptable forestry work experience after graduating from an educational institution. This experience must be gained under the supervision of a Registered Professional Forester or the equivalent. Post-graduate (Master’s or Ph.D) forestry-related studies can count for up to six months of your required experience. You may also be able to count some of your international forestry work experience toward the experience requirement, if it is equivalent to experience normally gained in Ontario.

You need to find your own employment to meet the experience requirement. You can post your resumé on the OPFA website and respond to advertisements posted by employers. You will also have access to contact information for other OPFA members for the purpose of networking and getting to know people working in the forestry field in Ontario.

Step 10) Pass the Ontario Forest Policy and Administration Exam

The Ontario Forest Policy and Administration Exam is a three-hour exam consisting of essay questions. It is an open-book exam. This means you can consult reference books while you are writing it. You can arrange to write this exam at any time and in a location of your choice, including overseas, as long as you can find someone who is acceptable to OPFA to invigilate. OPFA will provide you with a reading list to prepare for this exam. You must achieve a passing grade on each question to meet the requirements for membership and certification with OPFA.

Step 11) Apply for Membership

Once you have met the competency requirements, satisfied the work experience requirement, and passed the registration exam, you are eligible to apply for certification as a full member with OPFA. To complete your application, you need two sponsors who are either Registered Professional Foresters in Ontario or who hold equivalent credentials outside of Ontario, and who are acceptable to the Registration Committee. Your sponsors must have first-hand knowledge of your professional abilities and be able to give examples of your work that they have personally observed. Ideally, your sponsors will be professional foresters who have supervised you at work. The application and sponsorship forms are available on the OPFA website.

As a Registered Professional Forester with OPFA, you do not need to have your qualifications assessed again if you apply for membership with another provincial forestry regulatory body in Canada. You only need to pass one examination to demonstrate your knowledge of the local forestry context, including applicable provincial legislation.

Fees and Costs

The following fees and costs are in Canadian dollars and are for 2011. Please note that 13% Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) may apply to some fees. For the most up-to-date information, visit the OPFA website.

Core Subject Assessment	No fee
Application Fee	$200
Portfolio Assessment Fee	$500
Competency Reassessment Fee (applies only if you request reassessment of specific competencies)	$200
Complete Reassessment Fee (applies only if you request a total reassessment of your application portfolio, after you have been found to have deficient competencies)	$500
OPFA Examination Fee	$75 for each exam
Annual Dues for Provisional Members	$25
Annual Dues for Full Members	$450

Third-party Costs

University transcripts	Variable
Academic credential evaluation	Variable

Labour Market Information

Professional foresters are employed to manage urban, rural and Crown land forests. One of the largest employers of professional foresters in Ontario is the Ministry of Natural Resources, which is the government ministry responsible for managing Crown land forests in Ontario. However, municipal governments also employ foresters to manage urban and rural forest areas, including parks and conservation areas. Private companies employ foresters to manage commercial forests and forestry operations on Crown lands, most of which are located in northern Ontario. Many professional foresters work as independent consultants, providing their services to government and industry.

To gain forestry work experience in Ontario, you may need to accept short-term contracts that require re-location to remote northern towns or rural areas in southern Ontario.

According to the Working in Canada website, employment prospects for forestry professionals are expected to be limited for the next few years. Some job opportunities will be created when older workers retire. However, it is expected that the number of job seekers for this occupation will be greater than the number of jobs available.

Forestry is very sensitive to economic conditions; high commodity prices for lumber and forest products stimulate industrial activity. However, increased competition from foreign countries and a strong Canadian dollar—which reduces Canada’s competitive advantage—will continue to have a negative affect on the demand for forestry workers. In addition, many saw mills and pulp and paper mills in northwestern Ontario have experienced closures and downsizings over the past few years.

Despite the negative outlook for traditional lumber, pulp paper and chip activities, there is some slow growth in the number of work opportunities for professional foresters to manage urban, rural and Crown forests for other uses.

Forestry professionals are responsible for the management of forest resources to ensure environmental stability. Many provincial and federal laws, most recently the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement and the Far North Act, both enacted in 2010 and aimed at sustainable economic development, may positively influence hiring in this occupation.

For information about finding a job in forestry in Ontario, visit the OPFA website.

Contacts and Resources

For links to Canadian forestry-related websites, visit:

Canadian Forests Website
Tel: 604-299-9643
Toll free: 1-866-639-6711
Email: nfo@canadian-forests.com
www.canadian-forests.com

For information about accredited university forestry programs in Canada, contact:

Canadian Forestry Accreditation Board
Email: cfab@cfab.ca
www.cfab.ca

For information about academic credential assessment, contact:

Comparative Education Service
School of Continuing Studies
University of Toronto
158 St. George Street
Toronto, Ontario M5S 2V8
Tel: 416-978-2400
Fax: 416-978-6666
http://learn.utoronto.ca/ces.htm

World Education Services
45 Charles Street East, Suite 700
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1S2
Tel: 416-972-0070
Toll free: 866-343-0070
Fax: 416-972-9004
www.wes.org/ca

To find a certified translator, contact:

Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO)
1 Nicholas Street, Suite 1202
Ottawa, ON K1N 7B7
Tel: 613-241-2846
Toll free: 1-800-234-5030
Fax: 613-241-4098
Email: info@atio.on.ca
www.atio.on.ca

For information about where and how to get help with settlement in Ontario, including information about English language classes and employment services that can help you find a job in your field, visit www.settlement.org.

For labour market information, visit the Working in Canada website.

For information about Ontario government forestry programs and services, contact:

Ministry of Natural Resources
Toll Free: 1-800-667-1940
www.mnr.gov.on.ca

Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry
Toll Free: 1-866-349-1388
www.mndmf.gov.on.ca

For information about regulated professions in Ontario, contact:

Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration
Global Experience Ontario
163 Queen Street East, 2nd Floor
Toronto, ON M5A 1S1
Tel: 416-327-9694
Toll Free: 1-866-670-4094
Telecommunication Device for the Deaf: 416-327-9710
Toll Free: 1-866-388-2262
Fax: 416-327-9711
Email: GEO@ontario.ca
www.ontarioimmigration.ca/en/geo/index.htm

Copyright to this career map is held jointly by the Queen’s Printer for Ontario and the Ontario Professional Foresters Association, © 2011