Forestry
This guide is for school and school board staff who are planning and delivering SHSM programs.
Overview
The Specialist High Skills Major in Forestry (SHSM–Forestry) helps students 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.
The forest products industry plays a crucial job creation role in rural and urban areas of Canada.
This SHSM program has 5 required components:
- bundle of 9 credits
- certifications and training recognized by the forestry sector
- experiential learning and career exploration activities
- reach ahead experiences
- sector-partnered experiences (SPEs)
Find a list of some of the careers that this SHSM can lead to.
Variants of this SHSM
The SHSM–Forestry can focus on a specific area (for example, forest products and applications, forest science, and sustainability) by varying the mix of its 4 major credits.
Where local circumstances allow, your school board may offer 1 or more variants of this SHSM.
Bundle of 9 credits
The SHSM–Forestry requires students to complete a bundle of 9 Grade 11 and Grade 12 credits, made up of 4 major credits, 3 other required credits and 2 cooperative education (co-op) credits.
These credits are required for all students, regardless of the pathway a student chooses after graduation:
- apprenticeship training
- college
- university
- the workplace
Four major credits
These credits provide forestry-specific knowledge and skills.
These 4 credits:
- can be any combination of Grade 11 and Grade 12 credits
- may include up to 3 forestry-related co-op credits (these are additional to the 2 required co-op credits in the bundle)
We (the Ministry of Education) maintain an SHSM-approved course list for the forestry sector. Contact the SHSM lead at your school board to get the list.
Three other required credits
These are required credits from the Ontario curriculum.
These 3 credits must include:
- one English credit (a compulsory English credit is required in Grade 11 and Grade 12 to graduate)
- one mathematics credit
- one of the following:
- science credit
- Canadian and world studies credit
- additional major credit
- additional forestry-related co-op credit (in addition to the 2 co-op credits required in the bundle)
Your school may commit to including a contextualized learning activity (CLA) for the forestry sector in each of these 3 credits. If your school offers this, then:
- some of the course expectations for these credits are met through the CLA
- your school decides if the CLA for English is completed in Grade 11 or in Grade 12
Even if your school does not formally commit to including CLAs, it can still offer them in 1 or more of these credits.
Two cooperative education (co-op) credits
Co-op credits in the forestry SHSM provide students with real learning experiences in a forestry workplace setting. This lets students refine, extend, apply and practise:
- knowledge and skills they learned in the cooperative education curriculum
- forestry-specific knowledge and skills learned through their SHSM program
| Credits | Apprenticeship Training Grades 11–12 | College Grades 11–12 | University Grades 11–12 | Workplace Grades 11–12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major Credits May include up to 3 co-op credits related to the sector (this is in addition to the 2 required co-op credits) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| English may include a CLA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Mathematics may include a CLA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Canadian and World Studies or Science may include a CLA May be substituted with 1 additional major credit or 1 co-op credit (this is in addition to the 2 required co-op credits) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Cooperative Education | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Total number of credits | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
Certifications and training
Students must complete 4 compulsory and 3 elective certifications and/or training courses/programs that are recognized by the forestry sector.
Compulsory certifications and training
Students must complete:
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Level C — includes automated external defibrillation (AED)
- compass/map/global positioning system (GPS)
- Standard First Aid
- Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) — generic, not site-specific, instruction
These are the proper names of the specific certifications or training courses/programs for this SHSM.
Elective certifications and training
These are names of an area, type or category of training. In these cases, your school board selects the specific certifications or training courses and programs.
Students must complete any 3 of the following electives:
- advanced training in a technique
- advanced training in a technology
- anti-oppression and allyship training
- bear safety
- chainsaw safety
- customer service
- fall protection
- fire safety and fire extinguisher use
- first aid/CPR/AED awareness
- harvesting equipment safety
- health and safety – basic
- hoisting and rigging
- infection control
- introduction to pest management
- ladder safety training
- land and forest survey skills
- leadership skills
- personal protective equipment – forestry
- portfolio development
- professional cable skidding
- project management
- propane safety
- safe tree cutting and logging
- sector-specific vehicle operation and safety
- skidder/loader safety
- suspended access equipment
- sustainable resource management planning
- wilderness first aid
- working at heights
Learn more about certification and training in SHSM programs.
Experiential learning and career exploration activities
Experiential learning and career exploration opportunities relevant to the forestry sector might include instances where an SHSM student:
- observes a co-op student one-on-one at a placement in the forestry sector (an example of job twinning)
- shadows staff at a lumber yard for a day (an example of job shadowing)
- works with a member of a forestry industry association or professional for 1 or 2 weeks (an example of work experience)
- participates in a local, provincial or national Skills Canada competition
- tours forestry industry workplace, such as a sawmill
- volunteers to plant trees as part of a community initiative
- attends a forestry sector trade show, conference or job fair
Learn more about SHSM program experiential learning and career exploration opportunities.
Reach ahead experiences
The SHSM-Forestry must provide students with 1 or more reach ahead experiences. These are 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 forestry sector
- college: interviewing a college student enrolled in a forestry-specific program
- university: observing a university class in a forestry-related program
- workplace: interviewing an employee in the forestry sector
Learn more about reach ahead experiences.
Sector-partnered experiences (SPEs)
Students engage with a sector partner to learn about forestry and how it connects with ICE (innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship), coding and/or math literacy skills.
Learn more about SPEs in SHSM programs.
Careers in the forestry sector
These are examples of careers in the forestry sector, sorted by the type of postsecondary education or training the careers usually require.
Apprenticeship training
- landscape and horticulture technicians and specialists
College
- chemical technologists and technicians
- forestry technologists and technicians
- technical occupations in geomatics and meteorology
University
- biologists and related scientists
- forestry professionals
- land surveyors
Workplace
- chain saw and skidder operators
- logging and forestry labourers
- nursery and greenhouse workers
- silviculture and forestry workers
Information and resources
Partnership opportunities
For local labour market opportunities in forestry, please contact your school board’s SHSM lead.
The SHSM model
This SHSM’s requirements are unique and geared to the forestry sector. However, the design of all SHSM programs follows a consistent model with 5 required components.
Find more information about the components of an SHSM.