Pecos Valley Production to get nearly $700,000 in job training funds from state

Pecos Valley Production, one of the state’s largest cannabis operators, is looking to roll more joints and cook more edibles.

The company, which boasts a manufacturing and production campus in Roswell, is hoping to hire up to 55 people over the next several months as it scales up.

Pecos Valley will get a bit of aid from the state, as it is set to receive up to $674,232 in Job Training Incentive Program funding to train the workers at an hourly wage of $21. The company is part of a group of businesses awarded JTIP funding in July, totaling about $1.2 million, to train the state’s workforce to spur economic development.

The program, which started in 1972, reimburses businesses in the state to train new hires, either through on-the-job or custom training at public educational institutions in New Mexico.

Companies receive their full awards at the end of the training periods for new hires. Businesses typically have about six months to find the workers and another six to train them before getting reimbursed by the state.

PVP Human Resources Director Luis Mata said the company has received JTIP funding in the past — it has received money on three other occasions going back to November 2021, according to state data — but added the company had on occasion ran into recruitment hiccups in the past because it is a “taboo” industry. He’s hopeful it will be easier to hire a new crop of employees.

“I think that everybody has a negative connotation about the industry,” Mata said, whose company boasts more than 350 employees. “But with PVP, we have a lot of industry professionals.”

In total, 11 companies, pending worker hires and training in the allotted time, are set to receive a share of the recently announced JTIP awards. Others include Little Toad Creek Brewery and Distillery in Deming, which is set to receive $91,782 to train nine workers at an hourly wage of $19, and Albuquerque-based Pajarito Powder, which will get $73,055 to train four workers at $32 an hour.

Between the nearly dozen companies, 93 workers are expected to get training through JTIP.

“The JTIP program is an essential tool for supporting communities and businesses as they move our economy forward,” said Mark Roper, acting secretary of the state’s Economic Development Department. “Employers from across the state are creating high-quality jobs for New Mexicans.”

The additional companies awarded JTIP money in July include:

• Albuquerque-based Century Sign Builders, a company focused on designing and manufacturing signage, will get $25,424 to train two employees at an hourly wage of $24.
• ErgoTech Systems Inc. in Los Alamos, which develops software for engineers to build applications for data collection, will get $52,398 to train two workers at an hourly wage of $45.
• Las Cruces-based cannabis company Higher Cultures LLC will get $50,130 to train seven employees at $21 an hour.
• Molten Salt Solutions LLC of Santa Fe will train three workers at an average hourly wage of $43, with a total award of $72,339. The company provides isotopically enriched materials for nuclear power generation technology.
• Los Alamos-based New Mexico Consortium, a partnership between the three New Mexico research universities and Los Alamos National Laboratory that focuses on solar energy and high-performance computing, will train two workers at $47 an hour with $54,880 in state funding.
• Albuquerque-based Securin Inc., which provided tech-enabled cybersecurity solutions, will get $21,600 to train three workers at an hourly wage of $22.
• Placitas-based The Grow NM Inc., a vertically-integrated cannabis company, will get $37,650 to train five workers at $17 an hour.
• Los Alamos’ UbiQD Inc., a quantum-dot manufacturer, will get $41,252 to train one worker at $72 an hour.