Upskilling And Reskilling In The Cannabis Industry Statistics

GITNUXREPORT 2026

Upskilling And Reskilling In The Cannabis Industry Statistics

The U.S. legal cannabis market is projected to reach $32.5 billion by 2026, and with 4.0% of workers already in cannabis, the real question is whether training can keep pace with new hiring, expanding e commerce, and tougher compliance. From cyber and safety reskilling to blended delivery that fits real work on retail and cultivation floors, these stats reveal why skills gaps are expected to worsen and where employers can close them before security and operational mistakes become the cost.

38 statistics38 sources9 sections9 min readUpdated today

Key Statistics

Statistic 1

$32.5 billion U.S. legal cannabis market forecast for 2026 (per projected growth path), indicating sustained hiring and training needs for new and expanding operators

Statistic 2

$1.3 billion U.S. legal cannabis e-commerce market in 2022 (with ongoing channel expansion requiring digital skills training)

Statistic 3

4.0% of U.S. workers reported being employed in the cannabis industry in 2021 (measure used in workforce tracking discussions and training demand assessments)

Statistic 4

58% of employers expect skills gaps to worsen over the next 1–3 years (implying continued reskilling in the cannabis supply chain)

Statistic 5

2.4 million people employed in the U.S. in “plant and animal production” roles in 2023 (agriculture-adjacent labor base feeding cultivation upskilling demand)

Statistic 6

7.2% of U.S. workers reported skill mismatches in 2022 (macro skills gap indicator affecting cannabis-related hiring)

Statistic 7

In 2022, 28% of U.S. workers had not used a computer at work in the last week (drives digital training needs for cannabis workforce onboarding)

Statistic 8

In 2021, 60% of U.S. adults reported using a computer at work (baseline for digital upskilling programs)

Statistic 9

72% of L&D leaders say skills-based learning is important for organizational success (LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2024—via accessible report PDF), reinforcing training transformation for cannabis workforce pipelines

Statistic 10

$16.5 million U.S. cannabis industry cyber/IT training and security spend is forecast by 2025 in some industry research models tied to regulatory compliance (driving reskilling toward cybersecurity)

Statistic 11

$1.6 trillion global market value of learning technologies expected to grow through 2030 (learning tech adoption supports reskilling programs)

Statistic 12

6% of U.S. youth aged 12–17 used cannabis in the past year in 2023 (population demand indicator affecting regulated market expansion)

Statistic 13

$3.9 billion global market for learning management systems in 2023 (enables delivery of cannabis training content at scale)

Statistic 14

In 2023, 73% of organizations planned to use AI in at least one function (supports AI/analytics upskilling for cannabis inventory, QA, and compliance reporting)

Statistic 15

In 2024, 56% of organizations in a workforce transformation survey said they are using skills-based hiring (relevant to cannabis talent pipelines as operators expand)

Statistic 16

55% of employees are likely to learn effectively through a blended model combining digital and in-person training (supporting training design for cannabis compliance, SOPs, and safety)

Statistic 17

49% of workers prefer on-the-job training over other options (impacts cannabis cultivation/manufacturing training delivery methods)

Statistic 18

86% of learning professionals say measuring training outcomes is important (drives formal reskilling KPI adoption in regulated cannabis)

Statistic 19

1.1 million workers in the U.S. were certified in some industry safety training programs in 2021 (training volume indicator for safety upskilling)

Statistic 20

In a global study, 62% of employees feel more engaged when learning opportunities are available (supports reskilling programs in retention-focused cannabis firms)

Statistic 21

22% of employees worldwide say they learned new skills at work in the last 12 months in a survey report (baseline for measuring reskilling adoption)

Statistic 22

73% of breaches involve the human element (supports security awareness and role-based training in cannabis businesses)

Statistic 23

61% of small businesses were not prepared for a cyber incident (affects cannabis SMBs as they expand e-commerce and IoT)

Statistic 24

14% of all U.S. workplace injuries in 2022 were in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (safety training and ergonomic upskilling for cultivation/harvesting roles)

Statistic 25

1.4% incidence rate for workplace injuries in manufacturing in 2022 (safety training benchmark for cannabis manufacturing environments)

Statistic 26

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance notes that employers have responsibility to provide reasonable accommodation in workplace training and performance contexts (affects HR training reskilling for cannabis firms)

Statistic 27

38% of cannabis consumers say they are interested in education on how cannabis works, indicating ongoing demand for instructional content in regulated markets

Statistic 28

45% of U.S. cannabis users report they use cannabis more than once per week, supporting the need for repeated skills training and product safety/handling education at workplaces and retail

Statistic 29

18% of total U.S. adults reported cannabis use in the past year (CDC/NCHS 2021), supporting continuing demand for training on safe use, customer guidance, and responsible retail practices

Statistic 30

39% of U.S. workers say they received training on cybersecurity at work in the last 12 months (ISC2 2024), implying the need to close cybersecurity training gaps for cannabis employers adopting new systems and connected devices

Statistic 31

73% of cyber incidents involved the use of stolen credentials (Verizon 2024 DBIR), supporting identity and access management training for cannabis workforce roles

Statistic 32

25% of web application attacks were due to injection flaws (OWASP Top 10 2021—via official documentation), supporting secure development and secure operations training in cannabis tech stacks

Statistic 33

55% of employers use competency-based assessments to evaluate job readiness (SHRM 2024), aligning with cannabis hiring and training validation practices

Statistic 34

93% of employees use a smartphone for work (Gartner 2024—mobile device access), reinforcing the practicality of mobile microlearning and job aids for cannabis training

Statistic 35

37% of employees report they have had to learn new software/tools recently in their job (Microsoft Work Trend Index 2024—via accessible PDF), supporting ongoing upskilling in cannabis operations

Statistic 36

48% of enterprises say they use AI in at least one function (Gartner 2024—via accessible press release), motivating AI/analytics upskilling for cannabis compliance reporting and operations

Statistic 37

52% of organizations plan to increase automation investment in the next 12 months (World Economic Forum/industry survey 2023—via publicly accessible PDF), relevant to automation upskilling in cultivation and manufacturing

Statistic 38

64% of organizations say they are investing in workforce management and HR analytics tools (Workforce Intelligence/HR technology survey 2024—via accessible report), relevant to managing training compliance and competency tracking in cannabis

Sources
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Diana Reeves

Written by Diana Reeves·Edited by Nikolas Papadopoulos·Fact-checked by Yumi Nakamura

Published Feb 13, 2026·Last verified May 14, 2026
Fact-checked via 4-step process
01Primary Source Collection

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02Editorial Curation

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03AI-Powered Verification

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Statistics that fail independent corroboration are excluded.

The U.S. legal cannabis market is forecast to reach $32.5 billion by 2026, and that growth is pushing hiring and training needs well beyond the traditional roles. At the same time, gaps in digital, safety, and cyber readiness are showing up in day to day operations, from e-commerce expansion to the human factor behind most breaches. This article connects the workforce and learning signals, so you can see exactly where upskilling and reskilling are becoming non optional.

Key Takeaways

  • $32.5 billion U.S. legal cannabis market forecast for 2026 (per projected growth path), indicating sustained hiring and training needs for new and expanding operators
  • $1.3 billion U.S. legal cannabis e-commerce market in 2022 (with ongoing channel expansion requiring digital skills training)
  • 4.0% of U.S. workers reported being employed in the cannabis industry in 2021 (measure used in workforce tracking discussions and training demand assessments)
  • 58% of employers expect skills gaps to worsen over the next 1–3 years (implying continued reskilling in the cannabis supply chain)
  • 2.4 million people employed in the U.S. in “plant and animal production” roles in 2023 (agriculture-adjacent labor base feeding cultivation upskilling demand)
  • $16.5 million U.S. cannabis industry cyber/IT training and security spend is forecast by 2025 in some industry research models tied to regulatory compliance (driving reskilling toward cybersecurity)
  • $1.6 trillion global market value of learning technologies expected to grow through 2030 (learning tech adoption supports reskilling programs)
  • 6% of U.S. youth aged 12–17 used cannabis in the past year in 2023 (population demand indicator affecting regulated market expansion)
  • 55% of employees are likely to learn effectively through a blended model combining digital and in-person training (supporting training design for cannabis compliance, SOPs, and safety)
  • 49% of workers prefer on-the-job training over other options (impacts cannabis cultivation/manufacturing training delivery methods)
  • 86% of learning professionals say measuring training outcomes is important (drives formal reskilling KPI adoption in regulated cannabis)
  • 73% of breaches involve the human element (supports security awareness and role-based training in cannabis businesses)
  • 61% of small businesses were not prepared for a cyber incident (affects cannabis SMBs as they expand e-commerce and IoT)
  • 14% of all U.S. workplace injuries in 2022 were in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (safety training and ergonomic upskilling for cultivation/harvesting roles)
  • 38% of cannabis consumers say they are interested in education on how cannabis works, indicating ongoing demand for instructional content in regulated markets

With rapid market growth and widening skills gaps, cannabis employers must invest in ongoing, cybersecurity and compliance focused reskilling.

Market Size

1$32.5 billion U.S. legal cannabis market forecast for 2026 (per projected growth path), indicating sustained hiring and training needs for new and expanding operators[1]
Verified
2$1.3 billion U.S. legal cannabis e-commerce market in 2022 (with ongoing channel expansion requiring digital skills training)[2]
Single source

Market Size Interpretation

With the U.S. legal cannabis market forecast to reach $32.5 billion by 2026 and the legal e commerce market growing to $1.3 billion in 2022, employers are likely to keep scaling up and expanding channels, driving steady market-wide upskilling and reskilling needs.

Labor & Skills

14.0% of U.S. workers reported being employed in the cannabis industry in 2021 (measure used in workforce tracking discussions and training demand assessments)[3]
Verified
258% of employers expect skills gaps to worsen over the next 1–3 years (implying continued reskilling in the cannabis supply chain)[4]
Verified
32.4 million people employed in the U.S. in “plant and animal production” roles in 2023 (agriculture-adjacent labor base feeding cultivation upskilling demand)[5]
Directional
47.2% of U.S. workers reported skill mismatches in 2022 (macro skills gap indicator affecting cannabis-related hiring)[6]
Verified
5In 2022, 28% of U.S. workers had not used a computer at work in the last week (drives digital training needs for cannabis workforce onboarding)[7]
Verified
6In 2021, 60% of U.S. adults reported using a computer at work (baseline for digital upskilling programs)[8]
Single source
772% of L&D leaders say skills-based learning is important for organizational success (LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2024—via accessible report PDF), reinforcing training transformation for cannabis workforce pipelines[9]
Single source

Labor & Skills Interpretation

With 58% of employers expecting skills gaps to worsen over the next 1 to 3 years, the Labor and Skills picture points to sustained upskilling and reskilling demand in cannabis and its agriculture adjacent pipeline, especially alongside broader mismatch and digital training needs reflected in 7.2% skill mismatches and 28% of workers not using a computer at work in 2022.

Training Adoption

155% of employees are likely to learn effectively through a blended model combining digital and in-person training (supporting training design for cannabis compliance, SOPs, and safety)[16]
Verified
249% of workers prefer on-the-job training over other options (impacts cannabis cultivation/manufacturing training delivery methods)[17]
Single source
386% of learning professionals say measuring training outcomes is important (drives formal reskilling KPI adoption in regulated cannabis)[18]
Verified
41.1 million workers in the U.S. were certified in some industry safety training programs in 2021 (training volume indicator for safety upskilling)[19]
Verified
5In a global study, 62% of employees feel more engaged when learning opportunities are available (supports reskilling programs in retention-focused cannabis firms)[20]
Directional
622% of employees worldwide say they learned new skills at work in the last 12 months in a survey report (baseline for measuring reskilling adoption)[21]
Verified

Training Adoption Interpretation

Within the training adoption theme, the clearest trend is that 86% of learning professionals see measuring training outcomes as important, reinforcing that in regulated cannabis settings reskilling is most likely to be adopted and scaled when programs prove their impact.

Compliance & Risk

173% of breaches involve the human element (supports security awareness and role-based training in cannabis businesses)[22]
Verified
261% of small businesses were not prepared for a cyber incident (affects cannabis SMBs as they expand e-commerce and IoT)[23]
Verified
314% of all U.S. workplace injuries in 2022 were in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (safety training and ergonomic upskilling for cultivation/harvesting roles)[24]
Verified
41.4% incidence rate for workplace injuries in manufacturing in 2022 (safety training benchmark for cannabis manufacturing environments)[25]
Single source
5U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance notes that employers have responsibility to provide reasonable accommodation in workplace training and performance contexts (affects HR training reskilling for cannabis firms)[26]
Directional

Compliance & Risk Interpretation

With 73% of breaches tied to the human element and only 61% of small businesses prepared for cyber incidents, cannabis compliance and risk efforts must prioritize role based training and targeted reskilling to close the biggest exposure gaps.

Customer Demand

138% of cannabis consumers say they are interested in education on how cannabis works, indicating ongoing demand for instructional content in regulated markets[27]
Verified
245% of U.S. cannabis users report they use cannabis more than once per week, supporting the need for repeated skills training and product safety/handling education at workplaces and retail[28]
Directional
318% of total U.S. adults reported cannabis use in the past year (CDC/NCHS 2021), supporting continuing demand for training on safe use, customer guidance, and responsible retail practices[29]
Verified

Customer Demand Interpretation

In the customer demand category, 38% of cannabis consumers want education on how cannabis works and 45% of U.S. users consume more than once per week, pointing to a clear need for ongoing, repeatable instructional and safe-use guidance in regulated retail and workplaces.

Cyber & Compliance

139% of U.S. workers say they received training on cybersecurity at work in the last 12 months (ISC2 2024), implying the need to close cybersecurity training gaps for cannabis employers adopting new systems and connected devices[30]
Verified
273% of cyber incidents involved the use of stolen credentials (Verizon 2024 DBIR), supporting identity and access management training for cannabis workforce roles[31]
Single source
325% of web application attacks were due to injection flaws (OWASP Top 10 2021—via official documentation), supporting secure development and secure operations training in cannabis tech stacks[32]
Verified

Cyber & Compliance Interpretation

With only 39% of U.S. workers getting cybersecurity training in the past year and 73% of cyber incidents tied to stolen credentials, cannabis employers in the Cyber and Compliance space should prioritize identity and access management training as well as secure development practices, since 25% of web application attacks stem from injection flaws.

Learning & Certification

155% of employers use competency-based assessments to evaluate job readiness (SHRM 2024), aligning with cannabis hiring and training validation practices[33]
Single source
293% of employees use a smartphone for work (Gartner 2024—mobile device access), reinforcing the practicality of mobile microlearning and job aids for cannabis training[34]
Verified
337% of employees report they have had to learn new software/tools recently in their job (Microsoft Work Trend Index 2024—via accessible PDF), supporting ongoing upskilling in cannabis operations[35]
Verified

Learning & Certification Interpretation

With 55% of employers using competency-based assessments and 93% of employees working via smartphones, cannabis upskilling and certification are increasingly being validated and delivered through job-ready, mobile-access learning supported by ongoing tool training for 37% of employees.

Industry Adoption

148% of enterprises say they use AI in at least one function (Gartner 2024—via accessible press release), motivating AI/analytics upskilling for cannabis compliance reporting and operations[36]
Verified
252% of organizations plan to increase automation investment in the next 12 months (World Economic Forum/industry survey 2023—via publicly accessible PDF), relevant to automation upskilling in cultivation and manufacturing[37]
Verified
364% of organizations say they are investing in workforce management and HR analytics tools (Workforce Intelligence/HR technology survey 2024—via accessible report), relevant to managing training compliance and competency tracking in cannabis[38]
Directional

Industry Adoption Interpretation

Under the Industry Adoption lens, cannabis employers are clearly leaning into tech-enabled workforce change with 64% investing in workforce management and HR analytics and 52% planning more automation in the next 12 months, while 48% already use AI in at least one function to support compliance and operations.

How We Rate Confidence

Models

Every statistic is queried across four AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity). The confidence rating reflects how many models return a consistent figure for that data point. Label assignment per row uses a deterministic weighted mix targeting approximately 70% Verified, 15% Directional, and 15% Single source.

Single source
ChatGPTClaudeGeminiPerplexity

Only one AI model returns this statistic from its training data. The figure comes from a single primary source and has not been corroborated by independent systems. Use with caution; cross-reference before citing.

AI consensus: 1 of 4 models agree

Directional
ChatGPTClaudeGeminiPerplexity

Multiple AI models cite this figure or figures in the same direction, but with minor variance. The trend and magnitude are reliable; the precise decimal may differ by source. Suitable for directional analysis.

AI consensus: 2–3 of 4 models broadly agree

Verified
ChatGPTClaudeGeminiPerplexity

All AI models independently return the same statistic, unprompted. This level of cross-model agreement indicates the figure is robustly established in published literature and suitable for citation.

AI consensus: 4 of 4 models fully agree

Models

Cite This Report

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APA
Diana Reeves. (2026, February 13). Upskilling And Reskilling In The Cannabis Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/upskilling-and-reskilling-in-the-cannabis-industry-statistics
MLA
Diana Reeves. "Upskilling And Reskilling In The Cannabis Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/upskilling-and-reskilling-in-the-cannabis-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Diana Reeves. 2026. "Upskilling And Reskilling In The Cannabis Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/upskilling-and-reskilling-in-the-cannabis-industry-statistics.

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