Explaining the surge in cannabis jobs

Kara Bradford, Viridian Staffing CEO & Chief Talent Officer explains why former service and retail industry workers have moved to cannabis jobs.

Video transcript

- Got a quote for ya. Quote, "There has been a seismic shift of workers from retail and restaurants to cannabis." Don't take it from me. Take it from Kara Bradford. She is joining us and is the CEO and Chief Talent Officer for staffing at Viridian. And she was quoted in a recent "Washington Post" article about the transition of people from restaurants and other kinds of work to cannabis. And what are you seeing? Give us a sense of just how dramatic this is because the word you used was seismic.

KARA BRADFORD: Absolutely. Last year, whenever, or I guess, yeah, in 2020 when we had COVID hit, and a lot of the hospitality workers and hospitality venues shut down, and the hospitality workers were out of work, we were able to attract a lot of that great talent over into the cannabis industry, which we were all really excited about.

We're always excited to get new talent into the industry, but we were deemed essential. And so that allowed us to continue operating in a lot of the cannabis companies that-- that were growing because we continue growing into new markets. We're able to bring that talent over-- over for us.

- Kara, what about what you're seeing now? Because at this point in time, a lot of restaurant workers have gone back to work. A lot of hotels are now reopened. People have started to travel again. Are you still able to attract the number of workers that you need?

KARA BRADFORD: Yes and no. So we have been very fortunate in retaining a lot of that talent. But in some cases, the cannabis companies are needing to get creative in their approach to retaining that talent and looking and saying, OK, in what ways or what perks can we offer or what benefits can we offer in order to make sure that we're retaining that talent?

Because we are seeing companies in the hospitality industry getting creative. I've seen sign-on bonuses being offered to retail workers and restaurant workers to come back to work. That way, those facilities can stay open. So cannabis is also looking at some of those ways that we can continue to attract that talent and keep the talent that we were able to attract whenever a lot of those-- the hospitality industry shut down for so long.

- Two-part question here. Can you give us an example about what some of these jobs pay? And then do you get paid in cash? Because I know with the federal banking law versus what's going on at the state level, you know, the banking situation is a real issue. So how do people get their paycheck? Or is it cash?

KARA BRADFORD: Great questions. So fortunately, there are some payroll companies that are servicing the cannabis industry. So we do-- most people in the industry are getting paid by a paycheck, which has been great that there are companies that are able to service us that in that way.

In terms of pay, it really varies. I mean, hourly workers if you're coming in, and you're looking at doing a cultivation tech role-- so that might be someone who's coming in and watering the plants and might be helping with some pest management and transplanting and things like that-- that person depending on the market could be making anywhere from $13, $14, an hour all the way up to $30 an hour depending on-- someone get-- working in the market and San Francisco is going to make something different than someone who's working in the middle of Ohio somewhere so.

- And Kara, when we've talked to a number of guests here on the program about the marijuana industry, they always say that we're still in the early innings, that we haven't even tapped the potential growth that we could see from this sector. I guess, how does your company, how does Viridian, how is it going to help these companies find the workers that they need and really, I guess, reach that growth that we are all expecting to see over the next several years?

KARA BRADFORD: Yeah, so we were founded in 2013, so we've been around quite some time. And it is still early, but it's matured quite a bit since we were founded. So in terms of finding that talent, we've been seeing people come over from consumer packaged goods, pharmaceutical companies, retail, many other industries into the cannabis industry, you know, for the eight, nine years that we have been in business.

But I think we'll continue to see people coming in from other industries. And as recruiters, we're constantly going out and trying to find that talent that is excited to be part of our industry and can bring their expertise over into our industry so we can make sure the industry grows further.

- I realize it's a long shot and anyone's guess because Joe Biden, the president, is opposed to legalizing marijuana on a national level, but there are a lot of people in Congress who are pushing for this. What do you think happens in the next two or three years?

KARA BRADFORD: If I could answer that question for you, I would probably be retired on a beach somewhere. But it is-- you know, we hope to at least see a certain legislation pass through. We've been working really hard on safe banking passages and things like that. But you know, in terms of legalization, it's anyone's guess. I would love to see it happen as soon as possible. But it's anyone's guess out there so.

- All right. Appreciate your being here. Kara Bradford, Viridian Staffing CEO and Chief Talent Officer, we wish you all the--