Horticulture and landscaping
This guide is for school and school board staff who are planning and delivering SHSM programs.
Overview
The Specialist High Skills Major in Horticulture and Landscaping (SHSM–Horticulture and Landscaping) helps 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.
This SHSM program has 5 required components:
- bundle of 9 credits
- certifications and training recognized by the horticulture and landscaping 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–Horticulture and Landscaping can focus on a specific area (for example, sustainable horticulture, landscape design and management, traditional Indigenous horticultural and landscaping practices) 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–Horticulture and Landscaping 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 horticulture and landscaping-specific knowledge and skills.
These 4 credits:
- can be any combination of Grade 11 and Grade 12 credits
- may include up to 3 horticulture and landscaping-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 horticulture and landscaping 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
- business studies credit
- additional major credit
- additional horticulture and landscaping-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 horticulture and landscaping 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 horticulture and landscaping SHSM provide students with real learning experiences in a horticulture and landscaping workplace setting. This lets students refine, extend, apply and practice:
- knowledge and skills they learned in the cooperative education curriculum
- horticulture and landscaping-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 |
| Business 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 horticulture and landscaping sector.
Compulsory certifications and training
Students must complete:
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Level C — includes automated external defibrillation (AED)
- plant identification
- 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
- cash handling and register training
- confined space awareness
- customer service
- edging and trimming
- fall protection
- first aid/CPR/AED awareness
- grading and drainage
- grading and sodding
- herbicide and pesticide
- infection control
- ladder safety training
- land and forest survey skills
- lawn mower use and safety
- leadership skills
- paver installation
- plant layout
- portfolio development
- project management
- pruning
- sector-specific sustainability practices
- sector-specific vehicle operation and safety
- seed saving
- soil classification and testing
- sustainable resource management planning
- tree planting
- weed and pest identification and management
- work orders
- 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 horticulture and landscaping sector might include instances where an SHSM student:
- observes a co-op student one-on-one at a placement in the horticulture and landscaping sector (an example of job twinning)
- shadows a horticulture and landscaping skilled tradesperson for a day (an example of job shadowing)
- works with a member of a horticulture and landscaping industry association or professional for 1 or 2 weeks (an example of work experience)
- attends college or university classes in a horticulture and/or landscaping program
- designs and installs a landscaping project on the grounds of the school or school board
- attends a workshop put on by a garden centre or nursery
- tours a greenhouse in which research is conducted
- volunteers with a community landscaping initiative
Learn more about SHSM program experiential learning and career exploration opportunities.
Reach ahead experiences
The SHSM-Horticulture and Landscaping 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 horticulture and landscaping sector
- college: interviewing a college student enrolled in a horticulture and landscaping-specific program
- university: observing a university class in a horticulture and landscaping-related program
- workplace: interviewing an employee in the horticulture and landscaping sector
Learn more about reach ahead experiences.
Sector-partnered experiences (SPEs)
Students engage with a sector partner to learn about horticulture and landscaping 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 horticulture and landscaping sector
These are examples of careers in the horticulture and landscaping sector, sorted by the type of postsecondary education or training the careers usually require.
Apprenticeship training
- landscape and horticulture technicians and specialists
- other small engine and small equipment repairers
College
- forestry professionals
- landscape and horticulture technicians and specialists
- landscaping and grounds maintenance labourers
- other administrative services managers
University
- architects
- biologists and related scientists
- landscape and horticulture technicians and specialists
Workplace
- contractors and supervisors, landscaping, grounds maintenance and horticulture services
- gardeners
- landscaping and grounds maintenance labourers
- nursery and greenhouse workers
- retail salespersons
Information and resources
Partnership opportunities
For local labour market opportunities in horticulture and landscaping, please contact your school board’s SHSM lead.
The SHSM model
This SHSM’s requirements are unique and geared to the horticulture and landscaping 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.