Launch of the A2ForBois project: the forestry and wood industry mobilizes

This launch event was held at the Chateaufarine Training Center of the Local Public Establishment for Agricultural Education and Training (EPLEFPA) in Besançon, in the presence of Perrine Serre, Secretary General for Regional Affairs, representing the Prefect of the Bourgogne Franche-Comté region; Sylvain Mathieu, Regional Councilor for Forests, Wood and Mountains; Véronique Favier, Deputy Director General ofArts et Métiers Éric Cartallier, Director of the Colas sawmill and President of the Franche-Comté Hardwood Sawmillers' Union.

A structuring project to support a strategic sector

While forests play a central role in combating climate change, preserving biodiversity, and regulating water resources, wood is now more than ever an essential material for ecological transition and sustainable construction.

However, the forestry and wood industry is currently undergoing profound changes. It faces environmental challenges—notably the accelerated decline of certain forests—as well as societal and structural issues. Multifunctional forest management is intensifying, while the sector is experiencing a shortage of skilled labor and a marked decline in the attractiveness of its professions. 

Added to these difficulties is a major challenge: a significant wave of retirements in the coming years, with up to 40% of managers likely to leave the sector within five years. This situation threatens the continuity of skills and the capacity for innovation in a sector that is nevertheless essential to national and European ecological transition objectives. It is a particularly strategic issue for the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, where forests cover 36% of the territory. 

The A2ForBois project was submitted by the Campus des Métiers et des Qualifications d’Excellence (CMQe) Forêt-Bois de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, a partnership structure re-certified by the French government in 2025. Led and coordinated by Arts et Métiers, Cluny Campus, the project brings together a consortium of sixteen members representing the forestry and wood industry: training establishments (Arts et Métiers, EPLEFPA in Besançon, AgroParisTech Nancy, Institut Agro Dijon, Marie et Louis Pasteur University, Bourgogne Europe University, Institut Européen de Formation Compagnons du Tour de France de Mouchard), operators/employers (Fibois BFC, Coopérative Forestière Bourgogne Limousin-Auvergne, ONF), technical partners (Institut technologique Forêt Cellulose Bois-Construction Ameublement, UNIT foundation), institutional partners (DRAAF BFC, Conseil Régional BFC, Regional Education Authority, City of Besançon).

A2ForBois also relies on a large network of partners involved in various aspects of the project (six other EPLEFPA vocational schools, national education institutions, companies (nurseries, ETF, sawmills, etc.), forestry cooperatives, employment and career guidance advisors, OPCOs, federations, and interprofessional organizations, etc.).

Training, attracting, and innovating: A2ForBois's drivers for action

A2ForBois is part of a collective effort to support and develop the forestry and wood industry in the face of economic, environmental, and societal challenges, by focusing on the development and upskilling of industry players. It is fully in line with the proactive approach currently being taken by the French government in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté to support the industry.

To enhance the appeal of the forestry and wood industry and meet a growing recruitment need (+24% over the next five years), A2ForBois is focusing on several areas of action: 

• Promote and enhance the image of careers in the wood and forestry industries, particularly among young people and those seeking career change, through ambitious awareness-raising initiatives (e.g., the Forest Van, a mobile third place vehicle that travels throughout the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Grand Est, and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions).
• Strengthen training programs by developing educational forest plots, digital tools, educational twins, and virtual reality simulations.
• Involve professionals in skills transfer and career path development to ensure that training meets industrial needs;
• Supporting companies in recruiting and retaining their employees, while promoting the upskilling of managers and technicians in the sector.

Over five years, A2ForBois aims to:

• Raise awareness among more than 300,000 young people about careers in forestry and woodworking;
• Train 3,000 continuing vocational training trainees and 300 company executives;
• Mobilize 150 career guidance professionals each year to relay the needs of the sector;
• Create a national network of trainers to ensure the dissemination and spread of skills throughout the country.