An Specialist High Skills Major program (SHSM) is a ministry-approved specialized program that allows students to focus their learning on a specific economic sector while meeting the requirements to graduate from secondary school. It also assists in their transition after graduation to apprenticeship training, college, university or the workplace. Pursuing an SHSM enables students to:
• Customize their secondary school education to suit their interests and talents
• Develop specialized knowledge and skills
• Earn credits that postsecondary educational institutions and the sector recognize
• Gain sector-recognized certification and career-relevant training
• Develop Essential Skills and work habits documented through the Ontario Skills Passport
• Identify, explore and refine career goals and make informed decisions about their future
• Remain flexible, with the option to shift between pathways, should their goals and plans change
• In the 2009-10 school year, SHSMs are available in the following sectors:
Agriculture
Arts and Culture
Aviation and Aerospace
Business
Construction
Energy
Environment
Forestry
Health and Wellness
Horticulture and Landscaping
Hospitality and Tourism
Information and Communications Technology
Justice, Community Safety, and Emergency Services
Manufacturing
Mining
Transportation
The following URL provides electronic copies of the sector guides specific to each of the above sectors as well as other SHSM resources.
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teachers/studentsuccess/specialist.html
Please contact the following if you have any questions on the SHSM program.
Aldo Cianfrini
Education Officer 0 Student Success/Learning to 18
Strategic Policy Branch
Mowat block, 4th Floor
900 Bay Street, Toronto ON
M7A 1L2
416-325-2669