The New York State Cannabis Workforce Initiative finally put up a jobs board after more than a year of work. The board will assist employers in the state's legal marijuana industry in hiring and assisting job seekers.

The Canna Jobs Link Portal.Photo byCannabis Workforce

David Serrano, CWI's project manager, said that the company will be making changes to the beta version of its job board, CannaJobsLink, over the next few months. The beta version came out in the middle of July. But CannaJobsLink is already up and running, and employers in the marijuana field are excited about it, he said.

The state funds CWI, a collaboration between the charity Workforce Development Institute and Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. In its Seed-to-Success Statewide Live Workshops, which go around the state every two days, the group has taught hundreds of people the basics of the cannabis business since 2022.

Cannabis Industry Job Posting

Serrano said that Craigslist, Indeed, KayaPush, and other sites post jobs in the cannabis industry in New York State on CWI's job board. There are about 80 job postings on the site right now. Serrano anticipates that the CannaJobsLink site will consistently feature between 300 and 400 active job postings upon its full launch.

David Serrano said that one of the best things about CannaJobsLink is that it is free and doesn't require people to make an account. He said that anyone in New York who wants to work in cannabis will be able to use the board because there are no obstacles.

The Workforce Development Institue

With help from Cornell and the Workforce Development Institute, CWI is teaching people about cannabis in two different ways. WDI is developing industry-focused training, while Cornell is providing information on the rights of workers and the legal responsibilities of employers.

A $3,025,000 budget allocation from New York's state legislature to Cornell, along with an appropriation of $3,000,000 last year, have funded the initiative's work since its launch in late 2021.