MERCED – A new program at UC Merced is preparing students for a career in cannabis, one of the fastest-growing industries in California.

Over the past few years, it’s hard not to notice all the new pot shops that have popped up around California.

“In California alone, there’s over 60,000 workers in this industry today,” said Max Simon, CEO of Greenflower.

Simon said they needed more. Greenflower is a company that came up with the curriculum for UC Merced’s new cannabis certificate program. 

“You’ll see that there are everything from entry-level jobs, all the way to director and manager-level jobs,” Simon said. “To take it one step further, oftentimes people take these programs, thinking they’re going to be an employee but then realizing they can actually start their own business.”

The program is online, takes nine weeks and you don’t need to be a UC Merced student to take it. There are three categories to choose from: cultivation, extraction and retail. 

“This is something that indicates to employers that the learner has job-ready career-based skills,” said Annette Roberts Webb. “So they can start work and be highly qualified in that position.”

Roberts Webb is the dean of UC Merced’s Division of Professional and Continuing Education. 

“For us, it is really a public service to be able to create an educated workforce who can service the community, and increase public health and safety as well as product quality,” Roberts Webb said. 

The program is currently teaching its first batch of students. Future employees in an industry thats seen an explosion in recent years. 

“Cannabis has a long history of being stigmatized and misunderstood, but the reason we’re seeing this surge of legalization is because when we update our info and when we see who’s using it and how they’re using it you see it’s an overwhelmingly positive thing for our society. But we need people to be educated to understand that,” Simon said.

Each program costs just under $1,000 and requires no prerequisites. 

• Merced County