The future is lit for those looking to work in the Central Alberta cannabis industry.
The first batch of 25 students enrolled in the recently-introduced cannabis production course started on Tuesday at Olds College.
Tanya McDonald, director of the centre for innovation at Olds College, said registration on May 1 filled up within the first 24 hours. The 25 spots in the August and September intakes are full.
“There’s more demand than we can accommodate right now,” said McDonald. “It’s the field study component with the hands-on piece – it limits us with the numbers but we’re very excited about the demand.”
The online piece of the program could be drawing people from all over the country, said McDonald.
Students enrolled in the online course will learn introduction to horticulture production, introduction to crop production and facilities, cannabis legislation and documentation, and horticulture for cannabis production.
McDonald said cannabis is an up and coming industry similar to the craft beer brewing, which exploded in the last few years.
Opportunities in the cannabis industry are not just in the growing side, but also in the extraction and processing and retail sales, said McDonald. The college will also explore programs focusing on educational and applied research support.
Central Alberta’s Olds is emerging as a medical marijuana production centre.
Sundial Growers is in the process of construction a 545,000-square-foot marijuana production facility. The company expects to complete all three phases of construction by March 2019. When it is completed, it will have 280 modular units covering 545,000 square feet and could employ as many as 600 people.
Nearby, Terra Life Sciences is building a second phase of its medical cannabis cultivation operation. The 230,000-square-foot facility will be located next to a 50,000-square-foot cultivation facility. Combined, the production capacity of the two buildings is 35,000 kilograms per year.
After completing the online courses, students will participate in a two-week field study which will commence Sept. 10 as part of the program. Students can get hands-on experience at Sundial and Terra Life Sciences.
Recreational marijuana will be legal starting on Oct. 17.
mamta.lulla@reddeeradvocate.com
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