Justice, Community Safety, and Emergency Services

The SHSM–Justice, Community Safety, and Emergency Services enables students to build a foundation of sector-focused knowledge and skills before graduating and entering apprenticeship training, college, university, or an entry-level position in the workplace. Where local circumstances allow, boards may elect to offer one or more variants of the SHSM in a given sector, each with a particular area of focus. This SHSM may be designed to have a particular focus – for example, on legal services, policing and private security services, the armed forces, or correctional services. This focus is achieved through the selection of the four major credits in the bundle.

Required Components for the SHSM–Justice, Community Safety, and Emergency Services

The SHSM–Justice, Community Safety, and Emergency Services has the following five required components:

1. A bundle of eight Grade 11 and Grade 12 credits

These credits make up the bundle:

• four justice, community safety, and emergency services major credits that provide sector-specific knowledge and skills. The four courses must include at least one Grade 11 and one Grade 12 credit, and may include one cooperative education credit related to the sector. (This cooperative education credit would be additional to the two that are required in the bundle; see below);
• two other required credits from the Ontario curriculum. Schools may commit to including a contextualized learning activity (CLA) for the justice, community safety, and emergency services sector in each of the two credits. In each credit, some of the course expectations are then met through the CLA. (Schools that do not formally commit to including CLAs are still free to offer them in one or more of the credits.) The two credits include:
  • one in English;^{footnote 1[1]}
  • one in mathematics;
• two cooperative education credits that provide authentic learning experiences in a workplace setting, enabling students to refine, extend, apply, and practise knowledge and skills outlined in the cooperative education curriculum as well as sector-specific knowledge and skills.

2. Sector-recognized certifications and/or training courses/programs

This SHSM sector requires students to complete a specified number of compulsory and elective sector-recognized certifications and/or training courses/programs, as indicated in the following table. Note: Where an item in the table is capitalized, it is the proper name of the specific certification or training course/program that is appropriate for the SHSM. Where an item is lowercased, it is the name of an area, type, or category of training for which specific certifications or training courses/programs should be selected by the school or board. The requirements are summarized in the table below.

Four (4) compulsory

Three (3) electives from the list below

* approved by and delivered under the direction of the school board's Mental Health Leader

3. Experiential learning and career exploration activities

Experiential learning and career exploration opportunities relevant to the sector might include the following:

• one-on-one observation of a cooperative education student at a placement in the justice, community safety, and emergency services sector (an example of job twinning)
• a day-long observation of a justice, community safety, and emergency services sector employer or employee (an example of job shadowing)
• a one- or two-week work experience with a municipal government official or a professional in the sector (an example of work experience)
• a volunteer experience accompanying an emergency first aid provider at a community event
• a leadership experience in a school related to drug-use awareness
• a visit to a detention centre
• a monitoring experience in a traffic court or in a courtroom of a trial, which is open to the public
• a visit to a fire hall or a military base, or attendance at an emergency services career fair

4. Reach ahead experiences

Students are provided one or more reach ahead experiences – opportunities to take the next steps along their chosen pathway – as shown in the following examples:

• Apprenticeship: visiting an approved apprenticeship delivery agent in the sector
• College: interviewing a college student enrolled in a sector-specific program
• University: observing a university class in a sector-related program
• Workplace: interviewing an employee in the sector

5. Sector-partnered experiences (SPEs)

Students engage with a sector partner and apply skills to gain insight into the relationship between this sector and ICE (innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship), coding, and/or mathematical literacy.

Pathways for the SHSM–Justice, Community Safety, and Emergency Services

See the table illustrating the four pathways and required credits leading to completion of this SHSM

Awareness building (Grades 7 and 8)

See Section B3.4 for information on building awareness of SHSM programs among students in Grades 7 and 8.

Exploration (Grades 9 and 10)

See Section B3.4 for information on providing Grade 9 and 10 students with opportunities for exploration of SHSM programs. In addition, students considering this SHSM can be encouraged to enrol in the following courses to become better informed about careers and postsecondary options in the sector:

• Career Studies (compulsory) and Discovering the Workplace: Some of the expectations in these Grade 10 courses provide opportunities for students to explore occupations and other postsecondary options in the sector and to participate in experiential learning activities.
• Civics (compulsory): This Grade 10 course enables students to explore what it means to be an informed, participating citizen in a democratic society. Students learn about the elements of democracy in local, national, and global contexts, about political reactions to social change, and about political decision-making processes in Canada.
• Healthy Active Living Education: These Grade 9 and 10 courses are recommended for all students who are considering enrolling in an SHSM–Justice, Community Safety, and Emergency Services program. The courses emphasize regular participation in a variety of physical activities that promote lifelong healthy active living.
• Information and Communication Technology in Business: Expectations in this Grade 9 or 10 course build a foundation of digital literacy skills that are needed in the work environments in this sector.
• Introduction to Computer Studies (ICS2O) or Computer Technology (TEJ20): These courses are recommended for any Grade 10 student who is considering enrolling in an SHSM–Justice, Community Safety, and Emergency Services program. They provide students with opportunities to explore the ICT sector, identify personal interests and aptitudes, and gain a better understanding of the computer skills and digital literacy required in this sector.

Specialization (Grades 11 and 12)

Students acquire the sector-specific knowledge and technical skills required to earn their Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with an SHSM–Justice, Community Safety, and Emergency Services by completing its five required components. Students and their parents/guardians are encouraged to consult with guidance counsellors and teachers to select the courses that will enable students to pursue their goals.

Sector representatives emphasize the importance of computer skills and digital literacy – a knowledge of and comfort with the digital environment. Students should consider taking courses in communications technology and/or computer technology to build these skills.

Some experiential learning placements may require students to undergo a police check as a prerequisite for participation in the experience.

Entry tests for some of the careers in this sector require a high standard of physical fitness. Therefore, students who are interested in such careers are encouraged to take physical education courses to improve their physical condition and develop leadership skills.

Students are also encouraged to pursue additional courses in social sciences and the humanities or Canadian and world studies to be exposed to issues of group dynamics and conflict resolution. Knowledge and skill in these areas are critical for response and practice in the justice, community safety, and emergency services sector.

Students pursuing a university pathway are advised to complete their required cooperative education credits in Grade 11, in order to allow room in their timetables in Grade 12 for credits needed to meet university entrance requirements.

Program Pathways: SHSM–Justice, Community Safety and Emergency Services

This template shows program requirements for the SHSM–Justice, Community Safety, and Emergency Services in Grades 11 and 12, along with some of the additional credits needed for an OSSD. It is provided to help guide students in choosing the credits they need to meet the SHSM requirements in the pathway of their choice. Students should always review their pathways plan with their parents/guardians and their teachers to ensure that they have all the credits they need to graduate with an SHSM–Justice, Community Safety, and Emergency Services.

• Shaded boxes represent required credits in the bundle for the SHSM–Justice, Community Safety, and Emergency Services.
• (C) represents a compulsory credit for the OSSD.
• The SHSM bundle of credits must include two cooperative education credits, but may include a maximum of three. The possible options are noted below, and explained fully in Section A1.2 of this guide.

* A contextualized learning activity (CLA) must be included in the course in schools that have committed to offering CLAs (see "Other Required Credits" in section A1.2). (Note that students must take Grade 11 and Grade 12 English to graduate with an OSSD, but the CLA may be offered in either grade.)

** May be taken the summer before Grade 11

Note: To guide students and teachers in the development of their SHSM program, schools can access the latest approved SHSM course list for each sector through their SHSM board lead.

Occupations in the Justice, Community Safety, and Emergency Services Sector

The following table provides examples of occupations in the justice, community safety, and emergency services sector, with corresponding National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes, sorted according to the type of postsecondary education or training the occupations would normally require.

Note: This information is based on the 2016 NOC. An update to the NOC in 2016 resulted in changes to the codes and titles for some occupations, and in some cases to the occupations included in the group. For more detail, refer to the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MLTSD) web page, Ontario's Labour Market. (Note also that some of the names of occupations listed here reflect common usage in the sector and may differ slightly from those used in the NOC system.)

Postsecondary Programs and Training in the Justice, Community Safety, and Emegency Services Sector

The following are examples of programs and training related to careers in the justice, community safety, and emegency services sector and the accreditations associated with each.

Apprenticeship Training

This sector does not offer apprenticeship training opportunities.