Transportation
This guide is for school and school board staff who are planning and delivering SHSM programs.
Overview
The Specialist High Skills Major in Transportation (SHSM–Transportation) 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 transportation 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–Transportation can focus on a specific area (for example, automotive, truck and coach, logistics and transportation or sustainable transport and community planning) 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–Transportation 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 transportation-specific knowledge and skills.
These 4 credits:
- can be any combination of Grade 11 and Grade 12 credits
- may include up to 3 transportation-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 mining 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 transportation-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 transportation 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 transportation SHSM provide students with real learning experiences in a mining workplace setting. This lets students refine, extend, apply and practice:
- knowledge and skills they learned in the cooperative education curriculum
- transportation-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, 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 transportation sector.
Compulsory certifications and training
Students must complete:
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Level C — includes automated external defibrillation (AED)
- Standard First Aid
- health and safety – basic
- 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
- air brakes
- anti-oppression and allyship training
- basic electrical safety
- computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM)
- customer service
- Drive Clean
- elevated work platforms
- environmental spills
- ergonomics
- fall protection
- filling propane and motor fuel tanks
- fire safety and fire extinguisher use
- first aid/CPR/AED awareness
- infection control
- introduction to logistics
- ladder safety training
- leadership skills
- lockout/tagging
- original equipment manufacturer's training
- ozone-depletion prevention
- Pleasure Craft Operator
- portfolio development
- project management
- sector specific software 1 (323)
- sector-specific regulations and legislation
- sector-specific vehicle operation and safety
- specialized skills training program/competition (such as Skills Canada provincial level)
- vehicle lift safety
- 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 transportation sector might include instances where an SHSM student:
- observes a co-op student one-on-one at a placement in the transportation sector (an example of job twinning)
- shadows a transportation skilled tradesperson for a day (an example of job shadowing)
- works with a member of a transportation 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 an automobile dealership, specialized transportation business, or municipal transportation department office and garage
- attends a transportation sector trade show, conference or job fair
Learn more about SHSM program experiential learning and career exploration opportunities.
Reach ahead experiences
The SHSM-Transportation 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 transportation sector
- college: interviewing a college student enrolled in a transportation-specific program
- university: observing a university class in a transportation-related program
- workplace: interviewing an employee in the transportation sector
Learn more about reach ahead experiences.
Sector-partnered experiences (SPEs)
Students engage with a sector partner to learn about mining 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 transportation sector
These are examples of careers in the mining sector, sorted by the type of postsecondary education or training the careers usually require.
Apprenticeship training
- automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers
- construction millwrights and industrial mechanics
- motor vehicle body repairers
- motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle and other related mechanics
- other automotive mechanical installers and servicers
- other small engine and small equipment repairers
College
- air pilots, flight engineers and flying instructors
- boat assemblers and inspectors
- deck officers, water transport
- industrial designers
- industrial engineering and manufacturing technologists and technicians
- machine operators and inspectors, electrical apparatus manufacturing
- mechanical engineering technologists and technicians
- supervisors, motor transport and other ground transit operators
University
- aerospace engineers
- industrial designers
- urban and land use planners
Workplace
- air transport ramp attendants
- aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors
- boat and cable ferry operators and related occupations
- boat assemblers and inspectors
- bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators
- delivery and courier service drivers
- heavy equipment operators (except crane)
- other automotive mechanical installers and servicers
- railway yard and track maintenance workers
- retail salespersons
- service station attendants
- tire repairers and servicers
Information and resources
Partnership opportunities
For local labour market opportunities in transportation, please contact your school board’s SHSM lead.
The SHSM model
This SHSM’s requirements are unique and geared to the transportation 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.