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What is the Forestry Workforce Census, Great Britain?
Forest Research, on behalf of the Forestry Commission, Scottish Forestry, and Welsh Government, is conducting a Forestry Workforce Census. It aims to better understand what the forestry operations workforce in Great Britain looks like today.
The Census will capture the size of the workforce and the scale of forestry operations. Accurate and up-to-date information on the size and make-up of the forestry workforce will help the sector to plan for the future, identifying skills gaps and helping put in place measures to maximise forestry’s potential.
Who are we asking to submit information and when?
Organisations across the forestry sector are being asked to submit information about their workforce on two separate dates – on 1 October 2026 and 1 March 2027 – to account for roles that are seasonal.
Organisations have a month after these dates to complete the questionnaire about who was working on that specific date. If an individual is working on both the 1 October 2026 and the 1 March 2027 they should be counted on both census days.
The October Forestry Workforce Census is now live. Organisations have until 30 October to submit their data.
The March Forestry Workforce Census will go live on 1 March 2027. Organisations will have until 31 March to submit their data.
Participation is voluntary.
Every organisation, from those with just one person to larger companies with many people and sub-organisations, whether employed and/or contracted, are invited to take part.
Who should take part:
- Organisations with just one individual, like sole traders and single-person organisations, right through to larger organisations
Who should not take part:
- Individuals employed by an organisation. The survey is aimed at employers rather than employees. Senior decision makers, like CEOs and HR directors should complete the survey on your behalf.
- Individuals and teams working within Forestry and Land Scotland, Forestry Commission, and Natural Resources Wales do not need to complete the Census. Organisations will be providing an organisation wide response.
What does the Forestry Workforce Census cover?
The Census will capture information about people that work (employed, contracted or other) on the following activities for forestry operations:
- planning
- tree production/nursery operations
- ground preparation, planting, establishment or maintenance
- managing woodland and/or managing people working on woodland
- harvesting
- extracting timber and haulage
- surveying and inventory work.
Going forward, the Census will take place every five years. Results from the Census will be made publicly available.
How does my organisation take part?
- Complete the October Census questionnaire online now
- Questionnaires can be submitted from 1 – 30 October 2026
- If you are unable to complete the forms online, please call 0300 067 5238 or email statistics@forestresearch.gov.uk to request a copy of the questionnaire which can be submitted via email
- Further guidance can be found in the following Supplementary Guidance section,
On 1 March 2027, the March Forestry Workforce Census will go live. Questionnaires can be submitted from 1 – 31 March 2027.
Sign up to the Forest Research e-newsletter for a reminder ahead of the March Census going live.
All data provided will be treated in the strictest confidence and will be aggregated with data from other organisations so that it will not be possible to identify an individual person or organisation in any publication or other report.
Supplementary guidance
Forestry Workforce Census – Guidance [PDF, 387kb]
Forestry Workforce Census – Supplementary Questionnaire Tables [XLSX, 15kb]
Contact us
If you have any queries, please contact us at:
Email: statistics@forestresearch.gov.uk
Tel: 0300 067 5238
