An interview with Professor Uldis Spulle, Lead Researcher at the Department of Wood Processing, Faculty of Forest, LLU
In a December interview, Juris Buškevics, a representative of the Riga Forests board and a former Faculty of Forest lecturer, remarked that students graduating with a university degree are currently unprepared for practical work in the forestry sector.
Students definitely have less practical training than they used to. This applies to all three groups of forestry specialties – forest scientists, forest engineers, and wood processing specialists. The university prepares people academically, as mandated by the national higher education standards. Students need to be occupied with practical work somehow, and while this is simpler for social sciences, engineers require more time and greater financial resources for practical activities. It is worth noting that 20 or more years ago, technologies (including those in the forestry sector) were not as highly developed, and general specialists were better prepared; students already had a very clear idea of the specifics of their future work or even their place of employment. Today, young people “go through university” without knowing where they will work, often choosing not what they enjoy, but what is closer to home or a more prestigious position. I agree that there is less practical work! However, I would like to add that when it comes to practical work and skills, these are acquired more in vocational schools and competence centres, whereas university graduates are potential production managers and technologists. Of course, a good manager is someone who “knows the trade inside out”!
Are large companies interested in training students during their internship so that, upon graduating, they are ready for the job? Of course, requirements have changed, but…
I would say that the bar for requirements has been lowered! We have minimised the share of general study courses – such as mathematics and physics – so that students, upon arriving at university, do not encounter the very courses they have just “escaped” from!
The forestry sector is already helping with internships and placements. “Latvijas valsts meži” and “Latvijas Finieris” – these companies understand that it is possible to gradually cultivate potential employees for themselves. “Latvijas Finieris” offers internships (or laboratory assistant positions) to third and fourth-year students (two per course), and the student gradually becomes familiar with the work cycle; they are even offered thesis topics. Small and medium-sized companies act similarly. For our part, we ask entrepreneurs if they have any thesis topics to develop… In this way, over a certain period, the company gets to know the student and concludes – “the thesis is ready, thank you, but it won’t work out” or – “excellent, we offer you a position”!
I would call this a tripartite benefit – the university receives new knowledge from the sector, the student is introduced to the work process, and lecturers have the opportunity to learn about the latest developments in the industry.
Some time ago, there was a different problem – young people were not hired because they were asked for experience (work history). They don't have it! “It's good that you’ve finished university, but go away, get some work experience, and then come back!” It has happened that young people, after reading the study programme and description, get the idea that upon receiving a degree, they will immediately be offered a management position! First, one must understand – what and how to manage, and then…
There is also the thesis development period – in the 4th year, over the course of one semester – where the student signs a pre-graduation development agreement and, “legally”, spends two months at a specific place working. How much the respective company employs them, of course, depends on the company, but young people have become more demanding and usually try to gain and find out as much as possible.
Emphasis on academic education…
The university offers knowledge-based higher education. Consequently, science cannot exist without practice – they complement each other. If a person can prove themselves in science, I believe they will not be lost in practical work either! Of course, today, scientists do not sit locked up in laboratories, wanting to see no one, and then emerge with a result… Currently, there are excellent communication possibilities with any corner of the world.
As I said, the university is trying to get closer to the employer… Employers have a relative ranking table, and our university is in third place among universities in Latvia whose graduates are gladly hired. Our graduates are in demand.
A student with a degree is “not a finished product, but malleable clay from which a finished brick for a solid wall will emerge”!
As the poet Rainis said: “Those who change will endure!” If a young person understands that… Usually, these are the students who have studied for a couple of years and been invited to work. After a while, having worked, they return, having realised that something is missing. Then, the person’s attitude is completely different. Their motivation is also different – they want to learn more because they realise that they lack a certain theoretical base that should be supplemented.
How knowledgeable about industry processes is a young person who enrols in the Faculty of Forest?
What is available in the public space is what is known. Undeniably, it is important – how and what the young student perceives, so that the young person can analyse and understand. People with a strong ancestral legacy often end up in our faculty – a generational change is happening! Families are continuing! The rallycross driver Reinis Nitišs is our student; his father is the head of a large wood processing company, “Ošukalns”. Of course, I will not predict whether his choice will be the family business or motorsport, but…
From time to time, familiar surnames appear among the students, where parents have studied with us, or the family owns a small sawmill or furniture manufacturing plant… In this case, young people have gained insight into processes before university, worked in the family business, and understood what is going on. The young person or the family needs confirmation – if only in the form of a university degree – that he can not only work himself but also teach others and be a professional, skilled manager.
Do employers come in time to look for new colleagues?
Yes! In May and June, we receive plenty of emails and calls from entrepreneurs. “We know you had graduation, we are looking for four or five employees!”
There are companies that are constantly looking for people (employees). The content of the conversation is usually short: “We need a good employee!” Things were done differently in the past; now we inform the entrepreneur or representative, and they contact the graduate who interests them themselves! If you specifically recommend someone, you are to some extent responsible for the result if something does not work out. What can go wrong? The young person might not like the workplace, it might not be the right fit, and the entrepreneur will not be satisfied if I have recommended someone who, after working for a while, has gone off in search of new opportunities!
How do political winds, reforms, and rule changes affect the industry and the faculty?
As a state institution, we can weather times of change more calmly, but we must get involved in the processes. This must be done to the maximum. Our graduates, who understand the situation and developments, often work in the companies where we go for internships. We must work together to influence education policy. Often, decisions at the political level are made in such a way that they can no longer be influenced. However, the University, together with cooperation partners – the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry or the Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava” – can scientifically prove specific things and processes. If, in the past, a person who finished university was a generalist, now graduates’ knowledge is narrower but deeper. If it is necessary to solve or clarify an issue, you will not always receive the answer from the person you approach, but they will definitely recommend a specialist who will know and answer the specific question. Currently, all processes in education are aimed at cooperation!
How does the changing and supplementing of study courses take place? Is there still an introduction to the specialty?
Of course! We have a head of department who, in recent years, has been trying to turn this study course into an introduction to the industry – what important things are happening, what the Forest Industry Federation is, what the industry associations are. The student gains an impression and begins to orient themselves in real events.
In short, everything is aimed at upward development! Because, after all, we live in a city with growth!