- UC Merced Extension launches four online certificate programs in cannabis industry training to meet growing workforce demands.
- Certificates cover cannabis healthcare, law, business, and agriculture, aiming to prepare workers for California’s booming market.
- Programs address education gaps in the rapidly expanding cannabis industry, with classes for the first cohort beginning March 4.
UC Merced Extension is launching a series of courses geared toward anyone who is interested in making some legal green in the Valley’s budding cannabis industry.
The courses are being conducted in collaboration with Ventura-based cannabis education company Greenflower, and include three online, 9-week classes.
Extension programs like UC Merced’s offer classes to individuals without having to apply for admission to a formal university degree program. In other words, you need not be a UC Merced student to apply.
The certificates offered by UC Merced Extension include: 1). Retail Specialist, 2). Cultivation Specialist and 3). Extraction and Product Development Specialist. Admission for each course is $750, and classes begin Dec. 2.
The classes come six years after the first cannabis retail store opened in Merced County, and eight years after California legalized recreational weed.
Today, there are several legal dispensaries in the Merced County area. Still, the local industry has room for growth, particularly compared to urban centers like the Bay Area and Sacramento.
Michael Pierick, director of strategic initiatives and degree completion for UC Merced Extension, said the potential for growth is why the university decided to provide options for green rush prospectors.
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Classes for Cannabis? UC Merced Extension Launching Weed Workforce Training
