May 6, 2019 | Anne-Marie Fischer

Published by Green Market Report May 3, 2019

An increasing number of North American cannabis companies are reaching out to college students, offering summer internships as an opportunity to get their foot in the door in the growing industry.

Students now are being given opportunities that students only 5 years ago could have only dreamed of!

a full resume required

Upon graduating from college, students can no longer rely on their college credentials to land a job; experience and evidence of engagement are becoming increasingly important for recruiters as they seek to fill entry- and mid-level spots in their growing companies.

Internships within the cannabis industry provide new graduates a professional advantage because they have received a baseline of business acumen, have learned how to engage in professional environments, and have been able to focus their studies to meet their desired career path.

Students who have engaged in an internship, a form of experiential learning, enter the industry job-ready, resulting in a new crop of graduates ready to take to the cannabis industry.

an industry growing at exponential speeds

According to Vangst, the industry’s top recruiting platform, the cannabis industry showed a 690% growth in job listings from 2017 to 2018, forecasting an additional 220% growth this year.

Average salaries in the cannabis industry also increased over 16% from 2017 to 2018, and aren’t showing any signs of slowing down.  To anyone about to enter the professional job market, these statistics look promising.

Cannabis internships are going to be the new norm across college campuses as more states and countries legalize cannabis, and more educational institutions recognize and embrace the wealth of opportunity available to their students within the cannabis industry.

summer Internships Offered in 2019

The following North American cannabis companies are offering summer internships to college students in 2019:

U.S. opportunities

• Springbig is located in Boca Raton, FL, and is a cannabis dispensary CRM and loyalty rewards software company. Growing like wildfire, Springbig is looking to hire interns in the following departments: marketing, client services, development, and sales.
• CannaSafe is California’s #1 accredited cannabis testing laboratory. Located in Los Angeles, CannaSafe is looking to hire lab technicians and assistants for the summer. As an added enticement to future recruits, a few of their interns from last summer are returning this year with full-time positions!
• LeafLink is the cannabis industry’s #1 wholesale e-commerce platform and is looking to hire both a Graphic Design intern and a Sales & Development intern for their New York, NY office.
• Green Thumb Industries (CSE: GTII) is a national cannabis consumer packaged goods company and retailer located in Chicago. They are looking to hire a full-time Corporate Sales intern for what they call a “cannabis career immersion” experience, offering an in-depth look into the inner-workings of one of the largest multi-state cannabis companies in the world.
• High There! is a cannabis social network, directory, and community, that just relaunched its app in April. They are looking for undergraduate students that are eager to learn about marketing in the cannabis industry to join their Venice, CA team.

Canadian Opportunities

• Canadian Cannabis Chamber, which is focused on promoting cannabis businesses and enabling policies, is hiring a summer student to act as a Marketing Analyst at their Calgary, Alberta office
• Cronos Group, which sells cannabis at the federal level in Canada, is hiring an HR Intern to work within their Human Resources Offices in Toronto.
• Tilray, a cannabis licensed producer located in Nanaimo, British Columbia, is offering a Health, Safety and Environment Assistant summer internship

Students who complete internships demonstrate a record of employability in their chosen field, planning and purpose for their chosen career field or industry, and oftentimes find themselves in full-time positions with the companies for which they interned.

Brush up your resume, students, and take advantage of these incredible opportunities to ensure you’re job-ready within the growing cannabis industry.