With more than two dozen potential employees waiting before the doors opened, the BC Liquor Distribution Branch held its first job fair for its cannabis division in Courtenay Monday.
Jamie Martin, regional manager for the cannabis division said the fair - held at the Best Western Westerly Hotel - is a “meet and greet” to inquire about the roles, the business and the larger community.
“Any of the cannabis consultants are customer-facing, front-facing. (We are looking for employees to have) a lot of customer service experience, selling is a bonus, cannabis experience is a bonus but not necessary - we have a comprehensive training program that we do run all of our new hires through.”
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Martin noted the government store, to be located at #105 757 Ryan Road (in the Washington Park Shopping Centre), will be hiring one store manager, two assistant managers, six full time, four part-time and four auxiliary employees, and it is set to open later this summer.
“It’s really nice for us to meet people and it’s really nice for them to meet us, (to show) that we’re real human beings and that we really care about coming into the community and we’re getting to know what the community wants.”
She added while the province is quite knowledgeable about cannabis, there is still room for growth, which is why the fairs allow for “that open communication with people and allow them a safe space to ask us questions.”
She said cannabis experience is not required, but is a bonus to be successful in the positions.
“What I say to people is that we’re here to sell cannabis. So I want to hear about your knowledge … we’re not here to police that or have conversations like that, we just want to hear about the person’s personal experience with cannabis.”
Casandra Ewasiuk, one of the people waiting prior to the start of the fair said she is interested in applying for a position because of her fascination of the cannabis industry and would like to expand her knowledge.
“…It has helped numerous (people) in my family; my uncle is a quadriplegic and he’s been taking CBD oil for the last couple of months and it has helped him with involuntary night shakes and it has stopped that and helped him sleep.”
She noted she wanted to gain additional information about the available positions and what the individual jobs entail.
“I do feel that cannabis is a big thing … throughout the world. I want to know more about the plant and what it can do and how it helps everybody.
The job fair runs until 7 p.m. April 15. Recruiters will collect resumes onsite, however, all interested applicants must submit their application online through the LDB portal to be considered. Potential employees will be required to undergo a security screening in accordance with the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act.
erin.haluschak@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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