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This paper describes the overseas market for UK foresters. Opportunities are greatest in programmes of development assistance to the public sector in developing countries. The market is characterised by the variety of the work it offers on the one hand and the insecurity of employment and lack of structured career development on the other. The changing nature of the skills required is discussed and suggestions are made about how individuals can find out more about opportunities and market their services.

The overseas jobs market

1. The number and nature of employment opportunities for UK foresters varies from one part of the world to another and is changing. This paper will focus on developing countries (Africa, Asia/Pacific and Latin America/ Caribbean), say little about opportunities in economies in transition (Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union) and nothing about opportunities in industrialised countries (Europe, North America and Australasia).
2. There are employment opportunities overseas in the public sector, the non-governmental/not for profit sector, and the private/commercial sector. The first of these is the most important in terms of the size of the market for UK foresters.
3. Although there are still some opportunities for direct employment of UK foresters by overseas governments these are declining rapidly as these governments train their own nationals. Where there are vacancies, less expensive individuals from the same region will always be preferred. Most public sector opportunities in developing economies are financed by the multilateral and bilateral development agencies which contribute about £1 billion to forestry each year. Table 1 gives the sources of official development assistance ('oda') and gives pointers to the sources of employment. Expenditure varies considerably from year to year, reflecting the lumpiness of disbursement of a portfolio of projects. While total aid flows have been declining for a number of years some agencies have maintained or increased their support to forestry.
4. Only a small proportion of oda is used to purchase the services of overseas foresters and the volume of oda is not a good guide to direct employment opportunities with a particular agency. The development banks, some of the UN agencies and the European Commission, contract out most of their operational work to consultancy companies, NGOs and research institutions. With the exception of FAO they all have relatively small numbers of established posts in headquarters. These individuals establish policy and procedures, provide advisory services and quality-control the work undertaken by contractors. Table 2 shows the current numbers of professional staff working in forestry. Not all of them are 'foresters'.

Table 1: Official Development Assistance to the Forest Sector in 1993 (US$ millions)

	Country/Agency	Budget
Bilateral	Australia	11.0
	Canada	48.6
	Japan	84.0
	New Zealand	3.3
	Norway	11.2
	Switzerland	28.0
	United States of America	121.0
Sub total		307.1
	Austria	0.1
	Belgium	1.4
	Denmark	10.0
	Finland	28.0
	France	30.5
	Germany	173.1
	Ireland	0.2
	Italy	8.0
	Netherlands	60.6
	Portugal	0.1
	Spain	0.3
	Sweden	37.1
	United Kingdom	45.2
Sub total		394.6
	European Commission	214.0
Sub total EU		608.6
Total bilateral		915.7
Multilateral	African Development Bank	5.0
	Asian Development Bank	74.0
	Inter-American Development Bank	65.3
	World Bank	276.0
Sub total Banks		420.3
	International Tropical Timber Organisa	15.5
	Food and Agriculture Organisation	14.1
	International Labour Organisation	0.2
	UN Development Programme	33.5
	UN Environment Programme	1.1
	UNESCO	2.4
	UN Industrial Development Organisat	0.4
	UN Sahelian Organisation	10.0
	World Food Programme	121.0
	Global Environment Facility	10.3
Sub Total		208.5
Total multilateral		628.8
Grand Total		1,544.5

Source: International co-operation in financial assistance and technology transfer for sustainable forest management. Paper presented at the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests of the Commission on Sustainable Development, Geneva, March 1996. UN Economic and Social Council. Reference E/CN.17/IPF/1996/..

a) ITTO, total budget of organisation plus special funding for projects

b) Total budget of the Forestry Department of FAO plus special funding for projects (TCP)

c) Spending on forestry components of GEF