Pubdate: Mon, 03 Mar 2014
Source: Nanaimo Daily News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Nanaimo Daily News
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1608
Author: Cara McKenna
Page: A3

HUNDREDS FLOCK TO TILRAY SEEKING POT PLANT EMPLOYMENT

Tilray filtered through more than 400 applications for jobs at its
Duke Point medical marijuana factory during a unique hiring fair over
the weekend.

Selected candidates were invited to a downtown hotel where they
interviewed for jobs to cultivate, sell, trim, secure and ship
cannabis in the first event of its kind ever to hit Nanaimo.

Tilray's medical marijuana facility will open April 1 when law changes
take cannabis growth out of homes and into large-scale production.

Tilray Vice President Philippe Lucas said in an interview on Sunday
that job fair attendees were "enthusiastic."

"We had a lot of people with significant cultivation experience," he
said. "Some of it cannabis experience, some of it not."

Lucas said many people got a kick out of talking about their previous
experience with drugs at a job fair and "rather than hiding it, it
became an asset."

He added that company management was "incredibly impressed" with the
quality of applicants, although everyone applying with Tilray must
agree to a full criminal records check. The company is being
especially diligent with people who will be working directly with
marijuana plants.

Tilray currently plans to hire 40 to 60 people in addition to its
existing management staff.

"Our estimate of staffing keeps going up," Lucas said. "We're going to
do a hiring push over the next 10 days just to get us through our
launch on April 1 then we'll probably do another (hiring fair) after
that."

Lucas said anyone who missed this weekend's job fair can still go to
www.tilray.ca and apply under the "careers" section.

"Our goal is to produce the best cannabis supply in Canada," he
said.

"And, really, if you're going to be producing the best cannabis in
Canada, you've got to start with B.C."