Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM)
What is a Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM)?
The SHSM is a Ministry approved specialized program that allows students to focus their learning on a specific economic sector while meeting the requirements for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) and assists in their transition from secondary school to apprenticeship training, college, university, or the workplace.
An SHSM enables students to gain sector-specific skills and knowledge in the context of engaging, career-related learning environments and helps them focus on graduation and on pursuing their post-secondary goals.
Every SHSM must include the following five components, which are outlined in detail in individual guides for each sector:
1. A bundle of 8-10 Grade 11 and Grade 12 credits that includes:
4 major credits that provide sector-specific knowledge and skills
2-4 other required credits from the Ontario curriculum, in which some expectations are met through learning activities contextualized to the sector
2 cooperative education credits that provide authentic learning experiences in a workplace setting, enabling students to refine, extend, and practice sector-specific knowledge and skills
2. Sector-recognized certifications and/or training courses.
3. Experiential learning and career exploration activities within the sector.
4. “Reach Ahead” experiences connected with the student’s chosen post secondary pathway.
5. Sector Partnered Experience: Students connect with industry partner (3-6 hours) to have an experience that is related to innovation, math or coding.
*No substitutions for any required components are permitted.
How does an SHSM benefit students?
An SHSM allows students to experience a range of customized learning opportunities in an area that interests them, and helps to engage them in their school program.
An SHSM program gives students the opportunity to explore, identify, and refine career goals and make informed decisions related to post secondary education or training and next steps towards a career.
An SHSM helps students gain confidence in their ability to succeed, and see the connections between their studies, the world beyond high school, and their future careers.
The experiential learning opportunities provided in an SHSM enable students to develop Essential Skills and work habits that are required in the sector, and have their performance of those skills and work habits assessed and documented, using tools connected with the Ontario Skills Passport.
Through an SHSM, students begin to establish relationships and networks in their chosen field.
Students who have earned an SHSM can provide evidence of their achievement of the required components (e.g., sector-recognized certifications and training programs) to prospective employers and post-secondary educational or training institutions.
How is successful completion of an SHSM documented?
Successful completion of an SHSM is indicated on the student’s Ontario Secondary School Diploma by a red seal.
The student receives an SHSM Record that documents his or her achievement of the required components, including sector-related certifications earned and/or training courses completed.
Successful completion of an SHSM is indicated on the student’s Ontario Student Transcript (OST).
SHSM ARTS & CULTURE
The SHSM–Arts and Culture enables students to build a foundation of sector-focused knowledge and skills before graduating and entering apprenticeship training, college, university, or an entry-level position in the workplace. This SHSM may be designed to have a particular focus – for example, on dance, dramatic arts management or technical production. This focus is achieved through the selection of the four major credits in the bundle.
SHSM HEALTH & WELLNESS
The SHSM–Health and Wellness enables students to build a foundation of sector-focused knowledge and skills before graduating and entering apprenticeship training, college, university, or an entry-level position in the workplace. This SHSM may be designed to have a particular focus – for example, on health care, fitness, or child care and family services. This focus is achieved through the selection of the four major credits in the bundle.
SHSM TRANSPORTATION
The SHSM–Transportation provides students with a strong foundation for a wide variety of careers in the transportation sector, from those focusing on the service, repair, and modification of vehicles and vehicle systems to those related to the organization and management of transportation services and mass-transit systems. The SHSM–Transportation enables students to build a foundation of sector-focused knowledge and skills before graduating and entering apprenticeship training, college, university, or an entry-level position in the workplace.
SHSM Aviation/Aerospace
The SHSM in Aviation and Aerospace enables students to build a foundation of sector-focused knowledge and skills before graduating and entering apprenticeship training, college, university, or entry-level positions in the workplace. The ever-changing nature of aviation and aerospace, the complexity of supply chain dynamics, and the accelerated pace of change in the aerospace sector provide ample career opportunities for Ontario students.
SHSM Construction
The SHSM in Construction enables students to build a foundation of sector-focused knowledge and skills before entering apprenticeship training, college, university, or an entry-level position in the workplace. The construction industry is diverse and offers the opportunity to participate in all kinds of projects such as office buildings, plants, schools, roads, hydroelectric dams, hospitals, churches, houses, and tunnels. Large or small, the projects are managed, budgeted for, planned, and built carefully and capably by people with the ingenuity, skill, and education to create.
SHSM Hospitality
The SHSM in Hospitality enables students to build a foundation of sector-focused knowledge and skills before graduating and entering apprenticeship training, college, university, or an entry-level position in the workplace. A dynamic, growing sector, the hospitality and tourism industries include opportunities in accommodation, food and beverage services, recreation and entertainment, and travel services. Jobs in this sector tend to provide plenty of opportunities for advancement, widely transferable skills, and ongoing training.
SHSM Manufacturing
The SHSM in manufacturing provides students with a strong foundation for a wide variety of careers in the manufacturing sector, from those focusing on the service, repair, and modification of vehicles and vehicle systems to those related to the organization and management of manufacturing services and mass-transit systems.