With cannabis now legal for medical use in 33 states, the lawful marijuana industry is positively thriving. As of January 2019, the cannabis workforce in Florida reached new highs since its state legalization in 2016, totaling over 10 000 Floridians employed in 14 state-licensed Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers and approximately 90 licensed dispensaries. If analysts’ projections from a report in The State of Legal Marijuana Markets is correct, medical marijuana in Florida will exceed $1 billion in 2020.
This exponential level of growth can mean only one thing for the Sunshine State and its residents – job creation. By the end of 2019, it was estimated that there were over 211 000 full-time workers in the cannabis industry across the US, which according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, created more new jobs than those by the manufacturing and utility industries, as well as the government. This number is expected to grow exponentially over the next decade.
While still a relatively young industry, the pull-power for career professionals from traditional industries is incredibly robust, with Accountants, Laboratory Workers, Marketers and Tax Experts comprising more than half of the new cannabis workforce. For businesses and start-ups rushing to take advantage of this blossoming industry, a strong and reliable workforce will be a competitive advantage helping to ensure higher market share occupancy and business growth.
For years, MSI Recruiting has played a significant role in sourcing candidates for new, little-known, rapidly-emerging and alterative industries, securing the best staff from entry to executive-level for our clients across the board. We fill positions related to standard business functions for legal cannabis companies, such as Human Resources, Finance, Marketing, Sales and Administration to name a few. We actively work to break the stigma and systemic biases around cannabis and its industry; educating top-tier talent who may have had prior reservations around the industry about its true nature and its rewarding professional prospects.
“The cannabis companies we have been retained by to perform search and placement work located in Florida have proven to be highly professional and corporate in their approach and image. They are high-tech in both décor and demeanor. Our experience with cannabis companies has been placing highly-educated professionals that fill roles in Accounting, IT, HR, General Counsel and Financial Analyses. This industry has the same potential in terms of growth and employment that the Tech Industry has shown over the last 20 years,” said Jody Moore, Founding Partner of MSI Recruiting.
As more and more professionals make the shift to careers in the cannabis industry, the competition for the best people will grow accordingly.
“Cannabis and related industries are areas where MSI Recruiting has seen tremendous activity in the last 24 months. The rules by which the industry is governed are constantly shifting, making it difficult in many cases for companies in the industry to make business decisions. That said, most of our clients in the space are hiring consistently and rapidly. MSI Recruiting has clients that are growers, distributors, real estate developers, and everything in between. From a hiring perspective, we expect the volume and pace to keep up through 2020 as we keep an eye on how the changing laws will affect the industry,” said MSI Recruiting’s Managing Partner Kellen Smith.
Secure a strong workforce today with MSI Recruiting. Through our unparalleled focus on effective staffing, we put forth the best people to help your business achieve success.