New Jersey’s Cannabis Apprenticeship Training Initiative—one of the nation’s first programs dedicated to training workers in the growing cannabis retail field—is gearing up to welcome its first group of 20 students this summer.
A pilot program uniquely presented by a broad consortium committed to workforce development in the state, the Cannabis Apprenticeship Training Initiative will provide industry-specific training for employees in the cannabis retail sector. The apprenticeship program is unregistered because cannabis currently is not legal at the federal level.
One of the nation’s fastest-growing industries, the cannabis industry is expected to reach $100 billion in annual sales by 2030. The goal of the program is to educate and train workers to help cannabis businesses in New Jersey thrive and to build pathways for employees, particularly those in marginalized communities.
The Cannabis Apprenticeship Training Initiative consortium includes the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL), Rowan University, Rowan College of South Jersey, the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 360, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, the Gloucester County Workforce Development Board, and Loud Wellness, Inc. of Glassboro.
Through $325,000 in funding from the NJDOL, the program will offer training to apprentices by industry professionals who have worked in a dispensary setting. Topics will include OSHA 30 card for cannabis and cannabis site safety, dispensary operations, customer service and sales, cash control, product control, and seed to sale.