Your Career in Cannabis Starts Here.

We provide inclusive workforce development and legal education to promote equity in New York’s growing cannabis industry.

CWI in Action

What is CWI?

The mission of the New York State Cannabis Workforce Initiative (CWI) is to promote and support social equity in the adult-use cannabis market by providing quality workforce development and legal education. Our work prioritizes diversity, equity, and quality jobs in the emerging cannabis industry through skills training, entrepreneurism services, workforce supports, legal education for employees and employers, and the development of high-road career pathways. We draw our expertise from Cornell ILR and WDI.

CWI’s programming is made possible by funding allocated in the New York State Budget.

CWI Training and Impact

New Yorkers in attendance across our real-time trainings (in person and live online).

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Active learners have completed at least one self-paced training on our site.

New Yorkers have earned our 15-hour Cannabis Career Exploration and Worker Rights Certificate.

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Free Educational Resources

Read and download free legal explainers, educational posters, career guides and more. These resources are tailored to the job seekers and employers in the NYS Adult-Use Cannabis Industry.

Testimonials

My experience with CWI was great! Between learning and networking, I would recommend 10/10 for anyone interested in joining the industry to check CWI out and participate in the online trainings! Participating in the CWI live course taught me many things surrounding the legalities of cannabis in NY.

I just want to say what an amazing opportunity CWI courses were. I was able to learn some things/info I wasn’t aware [of]. I’m so glad you guys are around to provide educational info to everyone.

I truly enjoyed my experience with the CWI. It really aided in my career journey in the cannabis industry. I learned a bunch and the conversations were enriching! Their presentations were thorough and informational. I would love to take another course provided by the CWI as well as recommend their courses to anyone looking to further their career in the cannabis industry.

Good atmosphere. Good people. Learned a lot. Professional. Answered all questions with professionalism. Looking forward to more classes!

Loved CWI and staff! Lots of great info and experiences with this! Looking forward to future trainings! Highly recommend! Please continue educating the community! Public Access at the library was amazing. Maybe more days available!

Looking to apply for jobs in NYS cannabis industry? Check out the community job board right here on cannabisworkforce.org

CWI Sample Employee Handbook

The Cannabis Workforce Initiative has developed a Sample Employee Handbook tailored specifically for New York cannabis business employers. This handbook is a helpful resource that can be downloaded and customized to fit your organization’s needs or used as a tool for comparison with an existing handbook.

Your Career in Cannabis Starts Here.

We provide inclusive workforce development and legal education to promote equity in New York’s growing cannabis industry.

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