The Cégep de Sherbrooke wishes to offer a training on the cultivation of cannabis

Archival photograph, courtesy Hydropothecary

Shanny Hallé

Wednesday, 28 march 2018 13:34

UPDATE
Wednesday, 28 march 2018 13:34

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SHERBROOKE, The Cégep de Sherbrooke wishes to eventually offer training in the cultivation of cannabis.

The management is still in the stage of reflection. Neither the form nor the content of the program have not yet been determined.

The will of the Cegep of Sherbrooke was recorded in the same direction as that of the Cégep de l’outaouais, Gatineau, who hopes to offer soon a college degree in cannabis cultivation. Other initiatives of the kind have in particular been identified in New Brunswick.

Many companies in the eastern Townships to wait for their license from Health Canada. Consider, in particular, MYM Neutraceutical to Weedon, who plans to have need of 400 employees over the next few years, and Neptunes Technologies in Sherbrooke, which changes its niche and wants to produce cannabis by the fall.

There are also Canopy Growth who wants to settle in Saint-Lucien, near Drummondville, in the Centre-du-Québec.

The needs in the workforce could be significant. This training at the Cégep de Sherbrooke respond to a possible request.

It’s too late?

According to Jose Dominguez, an expert on cannabis and, as a partner in Canbeba in Ontario, this training is good news for companies that could save three to four weeks to make their employees ready to work.

However, he had the impression that Quebec is waking up a little too late. “We already have five years of expertise. Currently, you are not looking for mr. or ms. All-the-World to grow cannabis. We need people with expertise in other areas,” said Jose Dominguez.

The timing of the Cégep de Sherbrooke is not known. If it goes ahead, the college must file a formal request with the ministry of Education, once the training set.