Olds College Excited To Expand Offerings Through Online Microcredentials

Industry Advancement

Olds College Excited To Expand Offerings Through Online Microcredentials

Olds College Continuing Education and Corporate Training is excited to introduce online microcredentials. From horticulture, to cannabis, to beverage production — microcredentials align with some of the most desired skills sought by top industries. By earning microcredentials, individuals are able to boost their careers with practical skills, recognize what they’ve learned while on the job, and share their skills with employers.

Defining Microcredentials

A microcredential is a certification of assessed competencies that is additional, alternate, complementary to, or a component of a formal qualification. Microcredentials are an opportunity to maintain or upgrade employment skills. They provide professional, industryaligned, focused skills that employers are looking for in their next hire. You can achieve microcredentials by completing the training and receiving an assessment, or simply through an assessment if you already possess the necessary skills.

Microcredentials have a number of benefits:

SKILLS The knowledge and skills gained are practical and applicable for advancing your career or starting a new one.

SHOWCASE Earning and validating new skills demonstrates your capabilities to existing and new employers. SCHEDULE Often delivered in an online and self-directed format means you can learn at your own pace around your schedule.

SHORT Each credential takes approximately seven hours or less and most offerings are completed in less than a month.

Going from a Microcredential to a Digital Badge

Microcredentials can also be combined into digital badges to show a series of completed microcredentials in a particular area. Upgrading microcredentials to badges allows students to further increase their knowledge and reflect their professional skills. Just like individual microcredentials, learners can also share digital badges on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, via email, or embedded in a website.

Digital badges at Olds College are managed through the College’s digital wallet powered by MyCreds.ca — Canada’s new, official credential wallet for postsecondary learners and graduates — and future employers can view qualifications related to specific skills through this digital wallet.

SITE SELECTION AND ENVIRONMENT COMPONENTS

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GROWING MEDIA: SELECTION, MANAGEMENT AND ASSESSMENT

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PEST AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT

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INTRODUCTION FOR CROP PRODUCTION & FACILITIES Digital Badge

Microcredentials are Suitable for Everyone

That’s the wonderful thing about each microcredential — most of the time they can be taken by anyone and do not require prerequisites or previous training. Microcredentials can help you get into an industry you’ve always been interested in and take your career to the next level. Learn new skills at your own pace while you continue to work or build your business. Instructors are available throughout each microcredential giving participants the guidance and support to succeed.

You can earn microcredentials and badges representing various competencies and from multiple organizations. They help you tell your professional story in a way that is complete and validated.

Ready to add a microcredential or badge to your resume? Visit oldscollege.ca/microcredentials or email mycreds@ oldscollege.ca to get started.

Current Offerings of Microcredentials

Olds College offers microcredentials in six sought-after industries:

1HORTICULTURE PRODUCTION These credentials offer skills in a variety of areas related to plant development and propagation methods including seed development, seed propagation, vegetative propagation, grafting principles and techniques, and more.

2CROP PRODUCTION & FACILITIES These credentials provide students with an introduction to commercial growing facilities and their associated crop production systems. Environmental management and control, irrigation systems, soil management and pest control are explored in crop production.

3CANNABIS LEGISLATION &

DOCUMENTATION

These credentials introduce important government legislation and regulations associated with the legal production of cannabis in Canada. Students will develop a critical understanding related to the need for documentation, packaging and secure product maintenance, and more.

4HORTICULTURE FOR CANNABIS

PRODUCTION

These credentials introduce key management, harvesting and pest management information as it specifically applies to cannabis production. Students will develop a crucial understanding of cannabis plant form.

5CANNABIS RETAIL These credentials lay the foundations of cannabis knowledge through a research-based approach ideal for retailers, educators, and others to enhance their theoretical and practical skills in this burgeoning industry.

6BEVERAGE PRODUCTION These credentials familiarize students with the sensory attributes of different beverages, and how they are produced and packaged. Explore production, quality control, and introduction to sensory attributes, filtering and packaging.