Nonprofit organization Playa Vista Job Opportunities and Business Services has received a $6 million grant to create more jobs in the cannabis industry for at-risk youth and young adults. The grant will fund an initiative being led by PVJobs in partnership with cannabis brand Superbad Inc. and the National Diversity and Inclusion Cannabis Alliance Funding was awarded by the Bureau of State Community Corrections under the California Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program.

“The CalVIP grant enables Pvjobs to introduce 350 residents to new career pathways and enhance the capacity of 12 local community-based organizations through direct funding, technical assistance and resource sharing,” PVJobs executive director Mary Taylor said in a statement. 

PVJobs is based in South Central and provides career-track employment opportunities to at-risk populations. This specific initiative will be geared towards people aged 17 to 44 who live in communities of high levels of poverty, crime, and density and who have previous involvement with the justice system or have family members that do. The program model is designed to give participants job training resources and provide high-demand sectors, such as cannabis, with more employees. The initiative will be overseen by the Ndica and participants will be employed by Superbad.

“Justice-involved individuals need opportunities for employment in the cannabis industry,” Ndica’s chief marketing officer, Hazel Taughtme, said in a statement.

Participants in the program will be paid $2,800 for on-the-job training. They will also have access to a variety of career education services such as pre-employment workshops, vocational training and job placement assistance. PVJobs’ other programs are geared towards employment in construction. It says that it has placed more than 8,000 people in career-track job programs, with a 70% employment rate and an 87% retention rate.