What is a Specialist High Skills Major?
STUDENT APPLICATION FORM (pdf)
SHSM - Construction Home Builds 2008/09
A Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) is a ministry approved specialized program that allows students to focus their learning on a specific economic sector (eg. Construction, Hospitality and Tourism, Manufacturing, Transportation, Communications) while meeting the requirements for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). It assists in their transition from secondary school to apprenticeship training, college, university, or the workplace. It enables students to gain specific skills and knowledge which are relevant to the career that they are interested in pursuing, while helping them focus on graduation and their post-secondary goals.
Specialist High Skills Majors (SHSM):
The District School Board of Niagara is currently offering 19 Specialist High Skills Major programs in the following 6 sectors:
*New for 2008/2009
For more information about a specific SHSM, click the name above, or access SHSM Majors in the left-side menu.
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Advantages of Earning a Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM):
Students in the Specialist High Major (SHSM) Program have opportunities to:
- Customize their secondary school education to suit their interests and talents;
- Earn sector-recognized knowledge and skills while earning their Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD);
- Explore, identify, and refine career goals;
- Make informed decisions regarding postsecondary destinations;
- Reach ahead to have experiences in postsecondary destinations by, for example, earning ministry-approved dual credits for college and/or university course and/or participating in Level 1 Apprenticeship in-school training;
- Access resources, equipment, and expertise that may not be available in their secondary school;
- Network with potential employers;
- Select a bundle of 8-10 Grade 11 and Grade 12 required credits which are:
- identified in a provincial framework focussed on sector-specific knowledge and skills;
- valued by employers and postsecondary educational institutions;
- planned in a pathway that leads to a specific destination;
- designed with flexibility to allow students to shift between destinations (e.g., switch from a pathway leading to college to an apprenticeship pathway) or discontinue the SHSM specialization should career plans change in grades 11 or 12;
- documented to provide evidence of achievement for
prospective employers (e.g., sector recognized certifications,
essential skills and work habits) and postsecondary
educational institutions (e.g., credits).
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Components of a Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM)
1. Bundled Credits
Each SHSM has a bundle of 8-10 required Grade 11 and Grade 12 credits which focus on the sector.
The bundle consists of:
- 4 Major Credits that provide the skills and knowledge specific to the sector
- 2 to 4 Other Required Credits
- 2 Co-op Education Credits that provide experiential learning experiences, enabling students to practice their skills and knowledge.
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2. Sector-Recognized Certifications and Training Programs
Certifications and Training Programs, especially those addressing safety, are important for students. In addition to the Major courses and the experiential learning components of the Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM), sector-related certifications and training programs enable students to acquire the knowledge and skills related to safe work habits. In addition, sector-recognized certifications provide SHSM students with an advantage when entering the workplace.
Important Note: certifications and workplace-related health and safety courses taken as part of the SHSM program do not remove the obligation of the employer to provide workplace-, site-, and equipment-specific training. Ontario employers are obligated under the Occupational Health and Safety Act to provide workplace-specific health and safety training to every worker and to ensure that workers are aware of hazards, processes, procedures and rules related to safety in their workplace. SHSM certifications and training programs are a complement to - but not a replacement for - the health and safety training obligations of employers.
For more information on employers' obligations,
please visit:
www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/ohsaguide/ohsag_2.html
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3. Experiential Learning
Experiential learning consists of planned learning experiences that take place outside of the traditional classroom setting. Credits in the Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) framework must include experiential learning opportunities for students so they can connect their learning in school to work in the sector. Experiential Learning can include job shadowing, job twinning, work experience, virtual work experience, and Cooperative Education (which provides strong links to classroom learning when it occurs in an appropriate placement that matches students' goals and interests and includes close monitoring by teachers and workplace supervisors.)
The Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) framework includes a minimum of two credits in Cooperative Education which are linked to the Major credits. Students transfer knowledge, skills, and safe work practices learned in the Major credits to a workplace environment. Students gain workplace experience, further awareness of sector-specific career opportunities, and network with employers. Students also become aware of the importance of the essential skills and work habits.
Important Note: activities can be recorded only once on a student's SHSM Record (as an experiential learning activity, as a reach-ahead experience or as a Co-op credit). This will offer students as wide a range of opportunities for experiential learning as possible.
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4. Development of Essential Skills and Work Habits and use of the Ontario Skills Passport (OSP)
The Ontario Skills Passport (OSP) Work Plan is used to identify and track students' demonstration of essential skills and work habits during their work experiences in their sector, and to plan further skill development. Using the OSP to track their development of Essential Skills and Work Habits will benefit students as they make the transition from school to their postsecondary destination.
Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) has identified and validated the essential skills needed for life, learning and work. These skills are transferrable from school to work, job to job and sector to sector. They enable people to perform tasks required in their jobs and to participate fully in the workplace and community.
For more information, visit the OSP website at:
http://skills.edu.gov.on.ca
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5. “Reach Ahead” Experience
Students in the Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program have opportunities for learning experiences directly related to their desired postsecondary destination. These experiences enable students to gain confidence in their ability to be successful, refine their skills and work habits, and make an informed choice about future careers and next steps.
All Reach Ahead opportunities are considered experiential learning, but experiential learning experiences are only Reach Ahead if they are directly related to the student's chosen postsecondary destination (workplace, apprenticeship, college, or university).
Experiences can range from a few hours in length to the time necessary for a full course, and may include:
- job-shadowing someone for a day or more in a career the student is considering;
- attending a number of college or university classes in their area of interest;
- attending a conference or workshop held by the economic sector for their SHSM; and/or
- completing a ministry-approved dual credit course(s)/program or apprenticeship training where students graduate with learning/credits that may count towards the first year in postsecondary institution or towards an apprenticeship program.
Important Note: activities can be recorded only once on a student's SHSM Record (as an experiential learning activity, as a Reach Ahead experience or as a Co-op credit). This will offer students as wide a range of opportunities for experiential learning as possible.
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