The inception of Forestry Education in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) in the 1920s and 1930s was largely patterned after models already in place in Europe and North America. Much training was at a technician level, and those trained were largely absorbed into the public sector to manage natural forests and plantations. Up to 1970 there were very few institutions teaching forestry in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the majority of them were still producing technicians only. Professional education was available only in South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, making most countries depend on schools in Europe, North America and Australia for professional education. The number of forestry professionals was very small, and largely employed as administrators of the sector.