Wood for Youth

Wood for Youth project main challenge is related to attracting youth to study practical skills that are needed for the industry, and therefore for the economy. Project is piloting and creating interactive trainings programs with practical trainings to raise youngsters competitiveness in woodhouse industry.

But why wood? Construction industry is changing – it needs low carbon footprint solutions. Therefore, sector is in a demand of motivated and qualified new labor who have competitive skills to lead the transformation in construction industry.

Results

Context and Problem

Across the Central Baltic region, the wood construction sector faces a significant workforce challenge. While companies struggle to find skilled workers, many young people experience difficulties entering the labour market. The issue is not a lack of interest in construction careers but rather limited practical skills, insufficient work experience and a lack of understanding of opportunities in modern industrial wood construction. This mismatch between education and labour market needs creates barriers both for young people seeking employment and for companies searching for qualified employees.

Idea and Solution

The Wood for Youth project was designed to bridge this gap by developing a practice-oriented training model that connects education with real industry needs. Through cooperation between partners from Estonia, Latvia and Finland, the projects’ main outcome was a creation of a joint cross-border training curriculum and methodology for industrial wood construction. The training combined engaging digital learning with hands-on experiences such as factory visits, construction site observations, study trips and internships in woodhouse manufacturing companies. This approach helped young people better understand the sector while allowing companies to engage directly with potential future employees.

Implementation and Impact

Cross-border cooperation between project partners enabled the development and testing of a shared training model that can be applied in different educational systems across the Central Baltic region. More than 400 young people participated in project activities and 288 successfully completed the training programme. Several participants continued with internships, employment or further studies in the wood construction sector. The project strengthened cooperation between education providers and industry, increased young people’s awareness of career opportunities, and improved their readiness to enter the labour market. By making career pathways more visible and accessible, the project contributed to the long-term development of skills and workforce competitiveness in the wood construction sector.

New Construction School – Latvia

In Latvia, the project resulted a training programme based on the joint curriculum developed through cross-border cooperation in the project. The programme combines an online course with practical activities such as internships, workshops and engagement events that introduce young people to industrial wood construction and strengthen their confidence in the sector. Special attention was given to community building and raising interest in timber construction among young people. The course is promoted through the New Construction School initiative and accessible online at: https://woodforyouth.thinkific.com/products/courses/wfy-course.

Kurss Wood for Youth

Wood Construction Academy – Finland

In Finland, the project contributed to the development of digital learning materials and an e-course on modern wood construction, introducing the fundamentals of timber construction and the wider wood industry value chain, together with practical workshops organised during the project. An overview of the developed materials and links to the learning platforms are available through SAMK’s Padlet resource page and on the platform https://osaamistapuusta.fi. In addition, the Finnish Federation of Woodworking Industries (FFWI) will disseminate the learning materials through the Wood Construction Academy initiative.

Wood4Youth training materials

Woodhouse Academy – Estonia

In Estonia, the project resulted with practice-oriented e-learning programmes that combine theoretical learning with opportunities to gain practical experience in the wood construction sector. The programmes introduce the fundamentals of modern industrial wood construction and help young people understand real career opportunities in the sector. Through the Woodhouse Academy platform, learners can first complete the e-courses and then explore internship and practical learning opportunities offered by woodhouse manufacturing companies through the industry vacancy promotion tool. The courses are available at: https://academy.woodhouse.ee/.

Puitehituse akadeemia

Expected results

One of the prerequisites for developing the training programs is understanding the characteristics of the target group – what is their motivation, aspiration, preferred study methods etc. The goal is to utilize the gathered know-how in the process of development of the training programs, to offer modern and attractive study methods and increase the motivation of students to enroll in the training programs and build their career in well-paid future vacancies at woodhouse industry. Wood for Youth project is targeting to train 150 youngsters, who will have the opportunity to widen their skillset and increase their competitiveness not only in woodhouse industry but as well in overall construction sector.

Duration 01.03.2023 - 28.02.2026

Total budget

Programme priority

Improved employment opportunities

Programme objective

PO6 - Improved employment opportunities on labour market

Lead partner

Estonian Woodhouse Association