Puro kicks off recruitment drive – a small start to its large-scale plans

Puro is growing – and the recruitment currently underway is just the beginning, according to Managing Director Tim Aldridge.

“We are expanding, offering an exciting opportunity for young Kiwis to join this emerging industry. It’s not just a job, it’s a career,” says Tim.

Puro’s currently recruiting for a Cultivation Lead and a Nursery Lead, with both roles based at its Kēkerengū site. It’s expected that across both its Kēkerengū and Waihopai sites Puro will hire an additional 150 – 200 predominantly cultivation based roles by 2026.

Tim says they’re preparing for that growth now.

“We’re talking to local iwi, industry organisations, tertiary organisations and schools, to look at how we can work together to provide our communities with the right information, training and tools to take advantage of the career opportunities Puro will provide,” says Tim.

Caitlin McCulloch is a Cultivation Technician at Puro. Armed with a degree in horticulture and a couple of years experience, she was looking to work for a company with an organic focus.

“Having just arrived back from Canada where organic cannabis was only just emerging on a larger scale this really intrigued me. I had read an article about Puro and their commitment to growing organically so I arranged to meet with the Puro team. The culture and vision they put across was super positive and I felt a great energy about working here. I’ve been here since January and I’m learning so much from the plants as well as the people,” says Caitlin.

Caitlin works alongside Max Jablonski, who has been working with cannabis plants in the USA for almost 10 years, most recently with Caliva, an indoor cannabis company in California.

As well as loving working with plants every day, Max appreciates the Puro values which he says create a supportive, empathetic environment where ideas and hard work shine.

“The culture that exists within the team is based upon a foundation of cooperation, sustainability, hard work, and respect – and it’s a culture that enables us to keep the plants at the forefront of everything we do in an organic, sustainable way,” says Max.

Tim says the collaboration across the cultivation team is a way of working that Puro wants to continue to promote, where staff of different experience levels can learn from each other and grow in their knowledge and careers.

“Medical cannabis is an emerging industry in New Zealand and while we have some of the world’s best cultivation experts by our side, we want to grow our knowledge-base from within New Zealand, and particularly our own communities. That’s why the work we’re doing to identify training and partnership opportunities locally, as well as promoting the industry to our young people, is a vital tool to ensure the career opportunities we can offer in the future are fulfilled,” says Tim. 

For more information about the Cultivation and Nursery roles currently on offer at Puro click here.