{"id":81213,"date":"2025-05-14T09:31:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T17:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/massachusetts-marijuana-officials-launch-career-hub-to-help-people-find-jobs-and-training-in-the-industry\/"},"modified":"2025-05-14T19:46:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T03:46:31","slug":"massachusetts-marijuana-officials-launch-career-hub-to-help-people-find-jobs-and-training-in-the-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/massachusetts-marijuana-officials-launch-career-hub-to-help-people-find-jobs-and-training-in-the-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Massachusetts Marijuana Officials Launch Career Hub To Help People Find Jobs And Training In The Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Massachusetts marijuana regulators have launched an online platform aimed at helping people find jobs, workplace training and networking opportunities in the state\u2019s legal cannabis industry.<\/p>\n

The new EquityWorks Career Hub is initially open only to individuals who are part of a Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) equity program, part of the state\u2019s effort to prioritize those most harmed by the war on drugs. The hub set to open to the general public on June 19.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe EquityWorks platform is a community for all, allowing a diverse array of individuals inside and outside the industry to build careers and contribute to the $8 billion cannabis economy,\u201d Travis Ahern, CCC\u2019s executive director, said in a statement. \u201cWe encourage anyone interested in a cannabis industry career\u2014or career advancement\u2014to take advantage of this resource, a first-of-its-kind tool for the regulated industry in Massachusetts.\u201d<\/p>\n

EquityWorks includes traditional job board features, like employment postings, as well as peer-networking tools and a monthly calendar of live networking events. Businesses can create customizable recruitment \u201cbooths\u201d to post job openings and showcase company culture, and they can also set up live interviews and online job fairs.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

The platform will be available exclusively to equity participants until June 19 and will then be open to the public.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (@MA_Cannabis) May 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/div>\n

The program was created by CCC\u2019s Equity Programing and Community Outreach (EPCO) department, which in September is scheduled to begin its next session of technical assistance for people enrolled in the office\u2019s Social Equity Program (SEP). Those participants \u201care individuals most impacted by the War on Drugs, including those who were subject to disproportionate arrest and incarceration as the result of marijuana prohibition,\u201d according to a CCC press release.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo date, over 1,100 individuals have taken part in the SEP program, which gives participants free technical training, expedited licensing review, fee waivers, and exclusive access to delivery licenses and forthcoming social consumption licenses,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n

CCC said in the release<\/a> that it\u2019s also in the process of implementing regulatory changes meant to lower the barriers to entry to SEP participation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmong the reforms, the Commission now has oversight over contracts between host communities and licensees and requires inclusive licensing policies at the municipal level,\u201d officials said. \u201cThe agency\u202falso ended blanket prohibitions\u202fthat once prevented people with criminal records from obtaining certain jobs in the legal marketplace, in accordance with state law.\u201d<\/p>\n

In nearby New Jersey, meanwhile, the state last year launched a Cannabis Training Academy, intended to support entrepreneurs interested in entering the state\u2019s marijuana industry<\/a>. As of February, more than 1,000 people had enrolled, officials said.<\/p>\n

The Garden State technical assistance program is free of cost to participants and covers processes around applying for a business license, obtaining municipal approval, raising capital and navigating issues like zoning and day-to-day operations. Courses are online, which organizers have said allows students to complete the academy at their own pace. Programming consists of pre-recorded webinars as well as live Q&A sessions with instructors, though in-person programs are also in the works.<\/p>\n

The New Jersey academy is aimed at promoting equity in the state\u2019s legal cannabis industry, with a press release noting that the program \u201cis specifically designed to help those who qualify as members of target Impact Zones, as defined in the CREAMM Act and subsequent NJ-CRC rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

Almost a year ago, Maryland became one of the first states to launch a workplace development program<\/a> focused specifically on supporting industry participation for people criminalized for past cannabis conduct.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis groundbreaking collaboration will support Marylanders interested in joining the state\u2019s growing cannabis industry and prioritize individuals and communities directly impacted by the War on Drugs,\u201d Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said in a press release at the time. \u201cFor decades, cannabis policy has been used as a cudgel. Together, we prove how cannabis policy can be used as a valuable tool to leave no one behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the program, participants take self-paced courses taught by industry experts, licensed marijuana business operators and college professors. After completing 100 hours of virtual instruction, they can also enroll in a two-day, in-person course for occupational training.<\/p>\n

The launch of the Maryland program came less than two weeks after Moore issued a mass pardon for over 175,000 marijuana and paraphernalia convictions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Separately in Massachusetts, lawmakers working on a state budget are butting heads with CCC officials<\/a>, who\u2019ve said they can\u2019t make critical technology improvements without more money from the legislature.<\/p>\n

Ahern, CCC\u2019s executive director, has the agency needs more money to make key IT infrastructure updates meant to address some of the issues the agency has recently been criticized for, such as failing to collect $550,000 in licensing fees<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s inspector general has called on CCC to conduct an audit over the failure to collect fees, which stretches back to August 2022.<\/p>\n

State lawmakers are also considering setting tighter restrictions on intoxicating hemp-derived products<\/a> and a plan to allow individual entities to control a larger number of cannabis establishments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Pennsylvania Governor Will Put Marijuana Legalization In His Budget, But Top GOP Senator Remains Skeptical<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

The post Massachusetts Marijuana Officials Launch Career Hub To Help People Find Jobs And Training In The Industry<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\n
\nRead More: Massachusetts Marijuana Officials Launch Career Hub To Help People Find Jobs And Training In The Industry<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Massachusetts marijuana regulators have launched an online platform aimed at helping people find jobs, workplace training and networking opportunities in the state\u2019s legal cannabis industry. The new EquityWorks Career Hub is initially open only to individuals who are part of a Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) equity program, part of theContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81213"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81213"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81214,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81213\/revisions\/81214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}