Internships allow marijuana companies to ‘grow talent from within’

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marijuana internships, Internships allow marijuana companies to ‘grow talent from within’

(This is an abridged version of a story that appears in the August issue of Marijuana Business Magazine.)

A growing number of cannabis companies – both ancillary and plant-touching – are creating internship programs for college students and graduates whom the firms hope will eventually become full-time employees.

Florida-based, marijuana-focused social media firm High There, for example, sees internships as a way to cultivate talent and find full-time staffers after they’ve completed the training program.

“We’re looking to grow talent from within,” said High There Chief Operating Officer Squire Velves, who left the music and sports business sectors to enter the cannabis space. “In my experience, I have found it difficult to source talent from the open marketplace. It’s random resumes you get from everywhere.”

Velves sees internships as a vehicle for businesses to evaluate potential workers and bring them on for the appropriate position.

He believes the generation entering internship programs today and parlaying them into full-time jobs either have the skills or can learn them on the job.

Velves and business experts like him shared the following advice with Marijuana Business Magazine about how to make the most of an internship program:

A final thought: A growing number of American universities are offering courses that help prepare their students for careers in the marijuana industry, so cannabis businesses should turn to them for potential interns.