MONTPELIER — A new survey is set to take stock of the current cannabis industry workforce in Vermont.
Cannabis Control Board member Julie Hulburd said the CCB conducted a workforce study in 2023, when the industry had about 413 employee ID card holders. Topics included pay, employment and benefits.
Now, Hulburd estimates the industry having more than 1,000 employee ID card holders.
"So you know, it is a good time to do that survey again and to have that survey evolve to tell us a little bit more about the labor in this industry and what the workforce looks like and how it's contributed to Vermont," she said at the CCB meeting June 25.
Alberto Bustamante is interning with the CCB this summer and working on the project. The recent Vermont State University grad is "a talented baseball player" who attended the school on scholarship and served as president of the student government, Hulburd said.
Bustamante described the survey as being "a full scale evaluation of where our labor force is at, and then what can be improved through legislation or any regulation." The plan is to cover demographics, job roles and benefits.
"So all this data will help us identify where the cannabis industry can use support," Bustamante said, "and then also address wage concerns and benefit concerns."
Bustamante said the survey also seeks to see how people are being trained for their jobs.