Though the program’s been touted as brand new, Niagara College’s two-year greenhouse technician program has been training growers for three decades—including licensed pot producers. “A couple years ago, it became clear that the sector was looking at cannabis production in a more substantial way because more people were using it medicinally,” says Al Unwin, associate dean at the horticultural school. A college needs to respond to future labour market demands, he argues, so the school quietly added lessons on pot production to the curriculum three years ago.
All teachers were and are legal producers. “We’re not going to employ anyone who’s been illegally producing cannabis—that’s very important,” says Unwin. (Instructors require full security checks through the RCMP.) The new program includes two profs from the horticulture program who enhanced their extensive plant knowledge with two years of cannabis-specific training. Producers from the industry have also been brought in to teach part-time. Unwin admits academic staff weren’t easy to find: “Trying to coax someone to teach a course—let alone take on a full-time professor position—is challenging for sure.” It seems few industry bigwigs are interested in teaching, and few professors are interested in pot.
It’s a familiar problem for Purcell at KPU, which just launched a cannabis career training program. Like Niagara College, Purcell’s school quietly offered a few years of cannabis programming that’s now been incorporated into a series of non-credit, 13-week online courses. Among the school’s offerings are courses focused on plant production and facility management as well as financing a cannabis enterprise in Canada. But unlike Niagara College, enrollment isn’t limited to students with impressive degrees. “We recognize the need for accessible training and we want this to be as accessible as possible,” says Purcell. When demand in the last few months surged past the available 35 spaces, KPU added concurrent courses to their roster; about 1,500 students have completed courses so far.
Luring cannabis professionals away from far more lucrative day jobs is proving to be a challenge. “I think it’s more a question of time than money,” explains Purcell. “These are busy people working 60 hours a week so finding another 10 to 15 isn’t easy.” Even keeping the courses current is an issue. “We’ve updated these courses multiple times already just because of regulatory changes and how quickly this industry is moving.”
As such, Purcell’s more open to embracing formerly illegal producers—it’s not only necessary, but perhaps inevitable. “Ask the legal licensed producers out there where their growers came from. Most are from the illicit market, at some point, even VPs and head growers. But these are responsible, ethical growers that want to grow legally,” he says. KPU’s program and others like it, he hopes, will combat lingering stigma. “We’re breaking down these stereotypes with evidence-based education. We’re the anti-reefer madness.”
To support his mission, and to help train enough professionals to support the coming legal market, Purcell has formed partnerships with other colleges and universities to share curriculum content. Ontario’s Loyalist College is employing KPU’s course material via distance education. Camosun College in B.C. is offering their course in growing cannabis for professionals as is Boreal College in Toronto, which launches its cannabis production technician program in the Fall. Universities too are adjusting their course offerings to Canada’s new laws, albeit more slowly. Mount Royal University in Calgary will offer three online courses beginning this September; Dalhousie University will do the same in Halifax in the spring; and the University of Ottawa will launch a two-week crash course in cannabis law beginning in January.
Click to Read More: Want a Job in the Cannabis Industry? Try These Canadian Colleges (Maclean’s)