CIVIL engineering students are being urged to consider a career working in forests instead of urban environments.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) officials say they are seeing a growing need for civil engineers and have vacancies to work in locations across the country.

Last month, they visited Glasgow's University of Strathclyde to talk to engineering students and to give them an insight into a day on the job with FLS's teams. Students were briefed on a real-life engineering problem scenario in South Rannoch forest that they might encounter during project work.

Senior teaching fellow from the university's department of civil & environmental engineering, Dr Mike Murray, believes the workshop exposed his students to a sector of civil engineering that is largely unknown to them when deciding on graduate careers.

He said: “The resounding feedback from my students was that they would now consider a career with a forestry employer, having found the construction of roads, bridges, paths and car parks in a forestry environment really interesting as a possible civil engineering pathway.”

FLS civil engineer and the University of Strathclyde alumni, Rhona Munro, who helped to deliver the workshop, said: “A career in forestry was not on my radar as an option when I was at university, but I’ve been with FLS for almost three years now and really enjoy my work.

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“I love that this job gives me the opportunity to go outdoors and into forests – something that isn’t possible in a lot of civil engineering roles, which are often more urban-based.”