What is a Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM)?
An SHSM is a ministry-approved specialized program that allows students to focus their learning on a specific economic 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 a Specialist High Skills Major
Pursuing an SHSM helps 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 a Specialist High Skills Major 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