Five young foresters graduate at Scottish Woodlands
Five young foresters have been honoured after completing the industry-leading Graduate Development Programme set up by Scottish Woodlands Ltd to ‘grow its own’ future leaders.
Managing Director Ian Robinson honoured the new graduates at an event at Crieff Hydro - including a fun team-building activity, a short presentation by each graduate, then a drinks reception and dinner.
The five new graduates are: Jacob Bouma (Sandpiper office, Perth); Rowan Cunningham (Fenwick, Ayrshire); Jemma McLachlan (Dumfries); Harry McDonald (Dunoon, Argyll & Bute); and Dafydd Powell (Melrose, Scottish Borders). They were presented with completion certificates and a gift - a paperweight with the inscription ‘growing a sustainable career’.
Ian Robinson (left) and Jacob Bouma (right)
Ian Robinson (left) and Rowan Cunningham (right)
Ian Robinson (left) and Jemma McLachlan (right)
Ian Robinson (left) and Harry McDonald (right)
Ian Robinson (left) and Dafydd Powell (right)
They all completed the two-year Graduate Development Programme in October 2024, with the exception of Jemma, who completed hers in October 2023, but was unable to attend the event.
Ian Robinson, Managing Director of Scottish Woodlands Ltd, said: “It’s always a pleasure to welcome the new graduates formally into the company, to reward their hard work and talent. We’ve now recruited 60 people since we started the programme in 2017 and the vast majority are still with the firm and making a fantastic contribution to the firm now - and will undoubtedly continue to do so in future.”
Lynne Macdonald, HR Manager at Scottish Woodlands Ltd, said: “We always aim to make the graduation day enjoyable - and this year’s event was no exception, thanks to Mind Benders, a team-building challenge involving a variety of games to test mental and physical ability. Thanks to the good weather, we were able to do all the activities outside.”
The Graduate Development Programme offers varied, hands-on training, including managing client relationships, supervision of contractors, conducting field visits, planning harvesting management operations, financial planning and analysis, and much more.
Lynne Macdonald added: “The programme helps us to recruit great talent, bridges the gap between university and work, builds deeper staff loyalty and retention - and makes Scottish Woodlands Ltd an employer of choice.”
“At the end of the course, we always have a great group of innovators, communicators and strategic thinkers who then go on to play a central role in the company’s future.”
To find out more about the Graduate Development Programme, go to: https://www.scottishwoodlands.co.uk/careers/graduate-development-programme/
