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2. About the Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM)
The SHSM is a specialized, ministry-approved program that allows students to focus their learning on a specific economic sector while meeting the requirements of the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD).
SHSMs assist students in planning their transition from secondary school to apprenticeship training, college, university, or the workplace. SHSMs provide students with knowledge and experiences that can effectively inform their choices and help them plan for the future. They also engage the student with caring adults – including networks of educators and partners in the community and the sector – who can offer relevant, timely information and support.
These programs enable students to gain sector-specific skills and knowledge in engaging, career-related learning environments, and to prepare in a focused way for graduation and postsecondary education, training, or employment.
Seven Key Benefits for Students
Pursuing an SHSM enables students to:
- customize their secondary school education to suit their interests and talents
- develop specialized knowledge and skills that are valued by the sector and postsecondary education institutions
- earn credits that are recognized by the sector and postsecondary education institutions
- gain sector-specific and career-relevant certification and training
- engage in sector-partnered experiences that are relevant to the sector
- identify, explore, and refine their career goals and make informed decisions about their postsecondary destination
- remain flexible, with the option to shift between pathways should their goals and plans change
About Occupations
Although SHSM programs are sector-specific, many different occupations are available within any given sector. Examples of occupations within each specific sector are provided in the SHSM program descriptions in Section A3: Sectors, sorted by the type of postsecondary education or training the occupation would normally require, and including National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes. The NOC is a system that describes and classifies all occupations in Canada using four-digit codes. This system and the codes are the authoritative source for occupational information in Canada. Entering one of these four-digit codes in the "Search job profiles" box on the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MLTSD) web page, Ontario's Labour Market will generate occupational information related to that career.