Job Fair Attracts Hundreds in Cathedral City

CATHEDRAL CITY — Some 350 job seekers showed up at a two-day job fair designed to fill positions at a newly licensed/permitted cannabis cultivator and manufacturer.

About 20 to 30 people will be hired and the goal is to fill all positions with Cathedral City residents, Edlin Kim, owner, said.

To date, he has hired a human resources director, a bookkeeper and comptroller; all are Cathedral City residents.

“We are as committed to the city as the city is to us,” Kim said.

Other positions he will soon be filling and their salaries include:

Packaging $11 per hour
Trimming $12 per hour
Junior grower $15-20 per hour based on experience
Lab Assistant $15 per hour. No experience necessary.
Cartridge Fillers $15 per hour
Packagers $15 per hour
Extraction Technician – Salary based on experience.
Compliance Officer $50,000 per year

The “Job Fair — Local Hire Program for Cathedral City Residents,” which was held June 8 and 9, was created by the Cathedral City Economic Development Department.

The newly opened Ace Hardware in Cathedral City also filled most of its positions with Cathedral City residents.

“Businesses are not mandated to hire Cathedral City residents, but if they deal with the city or require a conditional use permit, we’re asking them to voluntarily commit,” Mayor Pro Tem Greg Pettis said. “The city’s unemployment rate has fallen to 2.7 percent.”

For Kim, hiring locally is a no-brainer.

“We understand economic development,” Kim said. “We sleep, eat and buy in the city. We have a corporate contract with a hotel in the city and book about 1,500 nights a year with them. We try as much as possible to give back to the community.”

Giving back comes in a variety of forms, he said. Kim wrote a $4,200 check to help the Official Choir of Cathedral City travel to Rome to perform at the Vatican this week.

Kim’s cannabis cultivation and manufacturing business will be comprised of seven Limited Liability Corporations that will be located in Canyon Plaza Shopping Center. The project will divided the Mor Furniture for Less store into suites. Vista Paint, now located on Perez Road, will take up residence in an eighth suite.