Success Centers Launches Apprenticeship Program To Boost Black Employment In SF Cannabis Dispensaries

On Thursday, the Success Centers launched its Equity Pathways Industry Apprenticeship Program, which seeks to boost Black employment and place Black San Franciscans into full-time positions in the cannabis industry - an industry with notoriously underrepresentation from the Black community. 

Created in partnership with the San Francisco Equity Group (SFEG), the four-month cannabis learning program is the first of its kind: an apprenticeship with on-the-job training and placement. 

Blacks Underrepresented: Despite Black people making up 14% of the nation’s population, research has shown that only 2% of cannabis businesses are Black-owned. And while Black San Franciscans have endured decades of disproportionately higher felony drug arrests and have a current unemployment rate nearly three times the citywide average, the city’s regulated cannabis industry has boomed, accounting for approximately 40 dispensaries and 75 supply-side and delivery companies. 

“Breaking the cycle of poverty and increasing Black equity in this city means long-term, sustainable employment,” Liz Jackson-Simpson, CEO of Success Centers, told Benzinga.

“That’s why we’re excited to partner with industry professionals like SFEG who represent the community and have first-hand knowledge of the Equity program and our services.”

The program will place Black San Franciscans into full-time, living wage positions in San Francisco’s cannabis industry after the completion of the program that includes an apprenticeship with a local cannabis company, Jackson-Simpson explained. 

Program Details: The first phase of the program will begin with 12 local Black residents undergoing intensive training by cannabis industry professionals in POS, inventory, dispensary operations and other essential job skills. Participants will also receive up to a $500 stipend to help support their efforts.

After completing the four-week intensive educational program, participants will then move on to a 12-week in-store paid internship with local cannabis businesses, setting them up for full-time, living-wage jobs in the local cannabis industry.

“Every job created represents an opportunity for an entire family to thrive in the city they’ve called home for so long,” said SFEG’s Gaynor Siataga. “This apprenticeship program aligns perfectly with SFEG’s mission to leverage cannabis as a tool for economic empowerment and we’re proud to support it.”

All San Francisco cannabis businesses interested in hosting an Equity Pathways internship should contact Hector Gonzalez: hector@wearenicer.co