Distance learners in NYC area to get help entering weed market
Students taking online courses in the New York City area may soon gain access to resources intended to help them find jobs in the legal marijuana industry.
WeedHire International, a publicly traded company that specializes in connecting qualified individuals with job opportunities in the legal cannabis industry, announced Monday that it has been selected as a Platinum Sponsor of the New York Distance Learning Association (NYDLA), a private organization that provides distance learning resources to affiliated universities in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
“Education is one of the most important aspects of the legal cannabis jobs market & marijuana industry as a whole,” David Bernstein, CEO of WeedHire International, said in the press release. “Both medical and recreational marijuana will be defined by how educated the workforce and general public are about this industry. WeedHire is privileged to be a platform for the success of legal cannabis.”
Through its website and mobile app, WeedHire provides free job postings for roles such as recommending physicians, physician's assistants, growers, “budtenders,” dispensary operators, security guards, dispensary administrators, solar panel specialist, delivery drivers, lab techs, marketing specialists, lawyers, insurance agents, and even government jobs.
The company is not, however, directly involved in the growth, sale, or distribution of marijuana.
“We are seeing growing interest in this topic from our online community, especially inquiries from the leadership of Law Schools, Medical Schools, and the various Schools of Business,” said Thomas Capone, an Advisory Board Member at NYDLA. “Everyone is looking for reliable, factual information from sources they can trust.”
“The government predicts that 50 percent of the U.S. workforce shall be self-employed in the near future,” Capone added, predicting that, “[m]any of these entrepreneurs will find themselves directly or indirectly in the legal marijuana business."
Along with other NYDLA sponsors such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft, WeedHire will now share its expertise about the cannabis marketplace—gleaned from its work with clients in the field—with host universities such as Rutgers University, Fordham University, and Quinnipiac University. NYDLA does not charge the schools a fee to participate, deriving its revenues instead from corporate sponsors looking to introduce their products and services to new customers.
At Rutgers, for instance, NYDLA offers current and former students paid internships with its sponsors, though Capone told Campus Reform that there are not currently any plans for WeedHire to participate in that particular program.
“At this point, they’re leveraging our technology and resources for distance learning,” Capone explained, adding that NYDLA is pursuing the partnership in order to stay up-to-date on the needs of its members, many of whom are experiencing surging demand for career training in the legal marijuana industry.
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