A Mid-Michigan college is now offering an online course providing specialized training for Michigan’s rapidly evolving cannabis industry.
OWOSSO, Mich. (WJRT) – A Mid-Michigan college is now offering an online course providing specialized training for Michigan’s rapidly evolving cannabis industry.
The online course at Baker College is designed to provide job skills and training in the cannabis industry, particularly important as our state surpasses $10 billion in adult use sales since they began over five years ago.
“Michigan surpassed California in sales…the need is here,” Kelley Suggs, Public Relations Manager at Baker College said.
The state also ranks in the top three in the country for both cannabis business licenses and cannabis jobs according to a 2025 Vangst Job Report.
“Our classes cover business knowledge, cultivation, dispensary operations, compliance and more and we make it so simplistic where everything is 100 percent online,” Suggs said.
Baker College — which has a campus in Owosso in Shiawassee County — introduced the nine-week online certificate program last year.
Leaders say in an industry that used carry a stigma now has been replaced with a growing need and demand for skilled professionals.
“The cannabis industry is continuing to grow at a very fast pace and that means there’s a real need for well trained workers,” Max Simon, CEO of Green Flower, said.
The program is offered in partnership with cannabis education provider Green Flower and aims to address the need for the 45,000 cannabis jobs in our state with three areas of study:
Cannabis Cultivation Specialist Program
Cannabis Retail Specialist Program
Cannabis Extraction & Product Development Specialist Program
“These programs are about giving you the skills and the knowledge and the credibility to really stand out,” Simon said.
To put things into perspective, Michigan’s largest industry in 2024 was the Automobile & Light Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing, which generated over $113 billion in sales.
However, the cannabis industry reached that $10 billion mark in sales in just five years, or an average of $279 million per month, according to the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency.
“This is also the reason why education is so important. It’s a very complex industry. It’s a heavily regulated industry. It’s a competitive industry,” Simon said.
Classes for this cohort get underway June 2 with registration open now and additional monthly cohorts to follow.
Learn more at cannabis.baker.edu.
