DSBN TECHNOLOGY

Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) – Communications

Requirements
Advantages
Postsecondary Destinations
Resources

Requirements for a Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) in Communications:

A Specialist High Skills Major in Communications includes the following requirements:

a defined bundle of 10 credits in Grade 11 and Grade 12:
- 4 Major credits
- 4 additional required credits
- 2 co-op credits
Sector-recognized certifications/training programs
experiential learning within the sector
"reach ahead" experiences in the area of the student's postsecondary destination of choice (apprenticeship, college, university or workplace)
development of essential skills and work habits required in the sector, with documentation in the Ontario Skills Passport (OSP)

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Advantages of Earning a Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) in Communications:

Students achieving a SHSM in Communications will:

have a strong foundation for a wide variety of careers in the Communications sector
be able to customize their education to suit their interests and talents while meeting the requirements for the OSSD
focus on sector-specific knowledge and skills that are valued by the sector and postsecondary educational institutions
receive an SHSM Record outlining and identifying completion of the required components, including certifications and training programs and sector-specific credits the student has achieved
receive an OSSD with the Red SHSM Seal identifying that all of the required components are complete

Information technology (IT) workers are in high demand and short supply across the Canadian economy. The unemployment rate for IT professionals peaked at 6 per cent in mid-2002 and has since remained consistently below the national average for the labour force as a whole. By 2006, it had declined to 1.9 per cent.
The Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) estimates that Canadian firms could be short 89,000 IT workers in the next three to five years.

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Postsecondary Destinations in Construction