Call4Forest – Forestry Instructor

Summary

The Call4Forest project addresses gaps in skills assessment and qualification among forestry trainers in France and Spain. The project contributed to the development of essential tools for assessing and recognising skills, such as the European Brushcutter Standard (EBS) and learning guides for advanced forestry machinery. It fosters professional integration and enhances the quality, safety and pedagogical effectiveness of vocational forestry training. 

“Sharing field practices with trainers from different countries and VET Centers enabled us to contrast and align our teaching postures and safety guidelines, directly improving safety and training quality.”

Topic(s) addressed

• Crucial initial and continuous training for VET forestry trainers
• Innovative curriculum design 
• Sustainable forestry management 
• Digital tools (simulators), and 
• Female inclusion in technical roles 

Target group(s)  

• 19 VET trainers (including five women) 
• Rural forestry students, and 
• Sector professionals

Methodologies used

Call4Forest deployed collaborative educational methodologies during four transnational training modules. The sessions combined theoretical instruction with hands-on exercises, case-studies and practical demonstrations in forestry settings. To safely develop good technical practices and core forestry competences, specialised technologies were integrated, including machine-operating simulators that minimise risk and training costs. Formative assessments were standardised through newly created European evaluation grids. Participant feedback was gathered through ongoing evaluation surveys and incorporated into the training. 

Innovation environment

The project built a collaborative environment centred on the pooling of distinct national methodologies and the sharing of good practice among peers. By gathering trainers from diverse VET centres, the project transformed individual experiences in the field into unified technical tools. This transnational pooling allowed partners to contrast divergent regulatory and pedagogical frameworks, establishing a common foundation. Supported by consensus-based decision-making and cross-sectoral dialogue with networks such as EFESC and EduForest, this approach nurtured an open climate where shared educational innovations directly respond to the evolving safety needs of the sector.

Teachers’ role

Trainers acted as direct co-innovators by designing, testing, and refining pedagogical content. Through active peer-learning during the training modules, they exchanged distinct national practices to improve the clarity of teaching, working posture and workplace ergonomics. Crucially, the training focused heavily on physical safety and rigorous risk prevention, directly enhancing occupational wellbeing during dangerous forestry tasks. The project successfully qualified eight participants as certified European Brushcutter Certificate (EBC) trainer-assessors.  

Impact and output

The immediate impact includes a 100% satisfaction rate among participants in the training modules and strengthened capacity within VET centres. The project fostered social inclusion by actively promoting advanced mechanisation as a viable pathway for women into a traditionally male-dominated sector, with women accounting for 25% of participants. The spill-over effect is demonstrated by the official adoption of the European Brushcutter Standard (EBS) and evaluation grid by the European Forestry and Environmental Skills Council (EFESC), paving the way for a potential rollout across 11 European countries. All resources are freely available online in open-access formats. 

Learn more about the project