Covid-19 is terrorising the world. Economies are being crushed, businesses permanently closing their doors, and millions of jobs have been lost. But one sector continues to grow – cannabis.
Canada, which was one of the first countries to legalise recreational cannabis on a national level, along with many US states which have legalised, continue to seek employees to join their growing cannabis industry.
According to Bloomberg, cannabis companies across the two countries are currently hiring around 600 new employees – every week. With many of the positions going through Vangst – a dedicated cannabis job portal.
Now, more than ever before, is the time to think about a career in cannabis. Coming out the other side of this crisis, cannabis companies are going to need to level up and attract the best talent available to help them rapidly grow and expand. https://t.co/R0QmGQy3Y0
— Vangst (@vangsttalent) May 7, 2020
Not only have the number of job openings increased, but applicants have surged as well. Up 300% between March and April – likely due to other industries, such as retail and hospitality, laying off staff in the millions.
Karson Humiston, founder and chief executive officer of Vangst had the following to say:
We’ve seen a huge uptick in candidates, and we’re seeing a large number of candidates coming from hospitality and retail, when our clients do pick up hiring again, they’re going to have access to a really strong talent pool.
However, not everyone’s enjoying a period of growth. Canopy Growth Corp, one of the largest cannabis companies in the world, is in the middle of extensive job cuts. Laying off up to 700 people.
On the other hand, Trulieve, a company which has sought around 400 new employees since the start of the pandemic, hopes it can keep all their new staff after the pandemic dies down.
We prefer to not lose folks who have experience within the company, and there may be other roles that folks could shift into as well because we are continuing to grow.
Kim Rivers, CEO of Trulieve, also mentioned they had to double their delivery fleet after calls increased from 25,000 per week, to 65,000 per week.
These many job openings likely wouldn’t have been possible if select US stated hadn’t declared cannabis as an ‘essential service’. These local governments are likely overly pleased with their decisions in hindsight.
Hopefully Australian politicians can take note and realise just how beneficial a legal, recreational cannabis economy can be.