Hundreds of local residents turned out for a chance to fill a couple of dozen positions at a marijuana producing company that is coming to Chatham-Kent.
Curative Cannabis held a job fair at the Active Lifestyle Centre in Chatham on Wednesday in an effort to fill around 30 positions at its facility, which is licenced to grow medical and recreational marijuana. Attendees were able to meet with the company staff and complete a job application, before being pre-screened for an immediate job interview.
Brenleigh Knutson, the vice president of business development with Curative Cannabis, said organizers were pleased with the turnout, with around 250 to 300 people attending the job fair.
"We have a lot of people that are very motivated, looking for a job, [and] excited we're in the community, which makes me really happy because we've had such a good turn out and success," she said.
Knutson said the company is looking for grow technicians, harvesters, and several administrative workers. Many of the roles are expected to be full-time.
"It's kind of a wide range of people that we're seeing," she said.
Randy Liberty, a job applicant at the fair, said he attended with the hope of landing a position pertaining to repair and maintenance within the company. He added that the additional jobs coming to Chatham-Kent are a tremendous benefit for the municipality.
"Chatham-Kent is lacking job levels of this skill level," he said. "Anybody can get a white collar job, but it's hard to find something here for somebody that could stay [and have] sustainable work in Chatham-Kent for blue collar people."
While the company's facility remains under construction with an opening date of late this year, Curative Cannabis is hoping to have everyone hired by late summer or early fall 2019. The company's facility is located at 10078 Longwoods Road just east of Chatham.
-With files from Allanah Wills