Red River College hosts first cannabis-centred job fair

After its first marijuana-centred course exceeded enrolment expectations, Red River College held its first job fair for those interested in joining the marijuana industry.

Three cannabis retailers were at Monday's job fair, offering information and even job applications. Among them was Garden Variety, which is hiring about 60 positions in Winnipeg for its new stores, set to open in the coming months. 

The fair, organized as part of the school's Indigenous education strategy, focused on providing students with an opportunity to apply for entry-level positions in the industry. The school also had information about its courses and bursaries available. 

Given that some First Nations have been given retail rights to sell cannabis, the college wants to help ensure that the workforce is there to support that, said Rebecca Chartrand, executive director of Indigenous strategy at Red River College.

"In some ways, this is the new frontier. This is a new industry, and we want to ensure that we have equal participation or opportunity within that industry," she said.

The college launched its cannabis 101 course last fall, the first of its kind in Manitoba.

The course was originally supposed to take 24 students, but ended up doubling its enrolment due to popularity, Chartrand said. 

Tara Delrosario was at the job fair with her son, Owyn Hardman, to learn more about jobs in the industry. 

"It's new and upcoming, so it's pretty exciting," she said.

"I used cannabis in a medicinal way too to help me cope just day to day and so it's something that I value for myself, so I think it's something [that would] be interesting to get into and just let people know the value of it."

Monday's event was not the first pot-themed job fair in the city. 

Retailer Tokyo Smoke also put on a recruitment event in the Exchange District in August ahead of legalization. 

With files from Aviva Jacob