What is a Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM)?
An SHSM is a ministry-approved specialized program that allows grade 11 and 12 students to focus their learning on a specific sector while meeting the requirements to graduate from secondary school. It also assists in their transition after graduation to apprenticeship training, college, university or the workplace.
Key benefits of an SHSM
Pursuing an SHSM enables students to:
- customize their secondary school education to suit their interests and talents
- develop specialized knowledge and skills
- earn credits that postsecondary educational institutions and the sector recognize
- gain sector-recognized certification and career-relevant training
- develop essential skills and work habits documented through the Ontario Skills Passport
- identify, explore and refine career goals and make informed decisions about their future
- remain flexible, with the option to shift between pathways, should their goals and plans change
How is an SHSM recognized?
Students who successfully complete an SHSM receive:
- an Ontario Secondary School Diploma with an embossed red seal
- an SHSM record documenting his/her achievement
- formal recognition on his/her Ontario Student Transcript