When you're out looking for a job, do not give up! That's the first cardinal rule. Do not give up. Listen to what other people say about what you have to offer. If several people have said you need more skills in computers, more communications skills, or more basic wood science information - go and get that information. Chances are they are right.

-David Laurence

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If a program in any post-secondary institution produces good individuals who do well in the workplace, other companies will be encouraged to go back to that place to find good people. I would say look at the institution that you're going to. Look at where some of the graduates have ended up. If they have ended up in areas where you want to be then it's a good place to start. But you're not going to be able to get to where you want to go just because somebody went through that program and did well. It's always going to be based on your ability and what your efforts are.

-David Lawrence

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I grew up learning how to run a chainsaw and drive a bulldozer. Now I'm a Cabinet Minister (in British Columbia), but I dont' know how to run a computer. My kids have to make the VCR work. The technology that we need to service the world's needs for wooden products is the younger generation's skill set that my generation never had.

-Corky Evans

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Companies need skilled workers...I think we need to have people that will come in with skills in key areas, such as technical areas, and have a drive to use their imagination and minds in new ways that maybe the employer cannot define. How do you define creativity? An employer wants to have a person come into the industry who is going to say something new or do something new - make something happen. Just coming in and fulfilling the function is the past. The future is all about how you can contribute and how you can personally grow.

-Ian Harvey

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