Cannabis retailer seeks to hire 420 employees
Job seekers from in and around Calgary lined up to hand in their resumes Tuesday for an opportunity to work in the cannabis industry, as new retail company 420 Premium Market held a job fair at the BMO Centre at Stampede Park.
Jeff Mooij, president of 420 Premium Market, says his company is looking for approximately 420 new employees to be trained and ready when they open their doors Oct. 17, when recreational marijuana becomes legal in Canada.
“This is the first time that we get to see the new people who are going to join our culture, so it’s super exciting,” says Mooij.
Hundreds came out to the job fair, and Mooij said they received more than 15,000 inquiries on their website. The company is looking to hire for positions ranging from warehouse workers to managers and head-office employees.
“I’m excited about the diversity of the people coming out today, it’s amazing. Lots of seniors, I love seeing that. It’s just a super day for us,” said Mooij.
In true cannabis-industry fashion, the hiring process wasn’t so serious. The fair featured plenty of refreshments and even asked people to stop by a photo booth before leaving.
“We need people to understand that this is a moment in history, so we have the photo booth for people to memorize the event here today because this is incredible.”
Danielle Mackinnon, who has a background in social services, lined up Tuesday afternoon to apply for a job related to guest relations with the company.
“I learned a lot about mentalhealth issues, addiction, social issues and stuff like that,” said Mackinnon. “I feel like those things are going to come into a lot of the cannabis stores, and people looking for an alternative to psychiatric meds or people recovering from addiction.”
Eric Slubicki also came out and has been a longtime consumer of cannabis.
“I think if I work in the cannabis industry I’d be with like-minded people and I’d make some friends,” he said. “It’d be a good industry to stay with my whole life, I’d find, especially as it’s blowing up now and legalization is coming soon.”
According to data provided by the City of Calgary, 102 cannabis store applications have been approved as of Monday.