Abstract
This research focuses on past and future issues concerning not only the forestry labor force in general, but also “forestry workers,” which includes self-employed forestry workers and forestry-dependent contractors. With regard to the forestry labor force, the significance of the “Green Employment Project” (efforts to determine and strengthen vocational aptitude, development from the standardization of early education to career development support, and support for settlements in mountain villages) is clarified. In addition, factors concerning human resources management in the forestry industry are considered. Specific factors include the following: the increasing shortage of labor in recent years is having a significant impact on the employment strategies of forestry enterprises; teaching verbal skills may contribute to the improvement of the skills of both the workers and the instructors themselves; and evaluation of skills to reflect on worker treatment is effective as a management improvement tool. In this study, how such efforts are reflected in the management results of forestry enterprises was examined. It should be noted that, based on a review
of postwar forestry management theory, since the 2000s, the perspectives of individual dynamic analysis (generational theory), development into community forestry, and consideration of environmental effects of forests have become important. As a result, research on the process of new entries into self-employed forestry has finally started to progress.
