The Metropolitan Bartending School is in the Kitsiliano neighborhood of Vancouver. The school prides itself on training professionals for the hospitality industry and has an extensive curriculum packed into a two-week certification course. In addition to the study of cocktail mixing, beers and spirits, and pouring, the most basic certification course includes bar management skills, selling and up-selling techniques and cashier training. The Serving it Right Certificate, mandated by Canadian law, is also part of the basic certification package. The school offers add-on courses to enhance the basic certification, including wine tasting, working with flair and bar chef certificates.
Fine Art Bartending is a Canadian chain of bartending schools with a branch in Vancouver. The school offers an eight-day commercial bartending course with flexible day, evening and weekend classes. The course covers the basics of alcohol and cocktail manufacturing and preparation, mixing methods, beer, wine and spirits as well as equipment and glassware, customer service, opening and closing procedures and interviewing techniques. The curriculum is taught mostly behind the bar in practicum and a portion of theory in the classroom. In compliance with Canadian law, the certification course includes the Serving it Right Certificate designed to promote responsible drinking and bartending.
School of Mix and Mix Events is a Vancouver event planning and staffing agency that also offers bartending courses. The school's unique feature is the flexibility of the course. After attending the Pro Mixology Course Orientation offered every Monday, students may complete the course whenever they want during working hours. The student has one year to complete the course and can work at their own pace. The course covers the basics of mixed cocktails, spirits and wine as well as practical information about how to deal with intoxicated customers, inventory management, cashiering and bar equipment. Graduates of the program are often hired as event staffers by Mix Events.
The Diamond is a downtown Vancouver restaurant and bar that offers bartending classes. The extensive bartending course is offered either during the week or on the weekends and is designed to prepare students for a job as a bartender. The three- to four-week course covers the basics of product knowledge, tools and techniques, spirits and liquor, and cocktail mixing. The bar's school also offers rookie seminars in the evening at which one can learn everything from how to throw a cocktail party to cocktail and food pairings. Cocktail mixing seminars on the classic alcoholic bases of whiskey, rum, tequila, gin and vodka are also offered.