JHSS offers FIVE Specialist High Skills Major programs.

(Click on the following posters for a video about the program)

 

 

 

 

 

What is a Specialist High Skills Major?

There is a lot of information below, but if you have questions about this program, please contact your guidance counsellor or email SHSM Lead Mr. O’Connor at tom_oconnor@wrdsb.ca

What are they?

Specialist High Skills Majors let students focus on a career path that matches their skills and interests while meeting the requirements of the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). Students receive the SHSM seal on their diploma when they:

  • complete a specific bundle of 8-10 courses in the student’s selected field
  • earn valuable industry certifications including first aid and CPR qualifications
  • gain important skills on the job through cooperative education placements.

What SHSM isn’t.

A Specialty High Skills Major is NOT an additional course you need to take. It is a combination of courses (Co-op, major courses, and minor courses in the field) and certifications achieved through those specific classes as well as field trips. If you are not interested in field trips, SHSM is definitely not the right choice for you.

Who is it for?

Grade 11 and 12 students who:

  • Are planning a pathway to an apprenticeship, college, university, or into the workplace.
  • Want to identify, explore and refine their career goals and make informed choices about their next steps after secondary school.

Pursuing an SHSM enables students to:

  • gain important skills on the job with actual employers, at skills training centres, and at school
  • earn valuable industry certifications, including first aid and CPR qualifications.

Students who successfully complete an SHSM receive:

  • an Ontario Secondary School Diploma with an embossed red seal
  • an SHSM Record documenting his/her achievement
  • formal recognition on his/her Ontario Student Transcript

Promo Video Intro

Promo Video Details and Components

More information here

Get a jump-start on your career

A Specialist High Skills Major allows you to focus on a career area that interests you while you earn your high school diploma. No matter what education you plan to pursue after high school—apprenticeship, college, university or workplace training—an arts and culture major can help you focus on a future career.

A Specialist High Skills Major offers:

  • high school courses in grades 11 and 12 tailored to the career you want to pursue
  • the chance to work with industry leaders and experience cutting-edge training in each of the fields
  • experience working in the sector you’re interested in, while you’re still in high school
  • the opportunity to use the Ontario Skills Passport to develop skills and work habits that are required in the arts and culture sector
  • recognition on your high school diploma

SHSM programs have the following components:

  1. Students will take 8 credits in grades 11 and 12:
    • four major credits
    • two other required credits from the Ontario curriculum, in English and a choice of business studies or Canadian and world studies
    • two co-operative education credits to gain workplace experience that helps you refine, extend and practice your knowledge and skills
  2. Sector-recognized certifications and/or training courses/programs 
  3. Experiential learning and career exploration activities within the sector
  4. Reach ahead experiences connected with the student’s postsecondary plans
  5. Completion of a Sector-Partnered Contextualized Experience

Sector-recognized certification and training

As part of a SHSM, you will earn seven certifications, including the following three that are compulsory:

  • standard first aid
  • CPR, level A
  • hazardous materials – Workplace Hazardous Materials Information Systems (WHMIS)