Specialist High
Skills Major(SHSM): Information and
Communications Technology
Brebeuf College School has applied to the Ministry of Education for a
specialist high skills major in the information and communications technology field. With approval hopefully in March of this
year, we will begin implementation of this program in September of 2013. Students
enrolled in this SHSM–Information and Communications Technology will be involved
in today’s rapid and exciting changes in technology and will help pave the way to
new and emerging media and technologies in the years to come. Below you will
find some general information about this new program. Students entering Grade
11 next year who are interested in this program should see their guidance
counselor for the application process.
What is a Specialist High Skills Major?
The SHSM is a
ministry-approved specialized program that allows students to focus their learning on a specific economic
sector while meeting the requirements for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). This
career-focused program is also designed to help prepare students to make the transition from
secondary school to apprenticeship training, college, university, or the workplace. An SHSM
enables students to gain sector-specific skills and knowledge in the context of
engaging, career-related
learning environments and helps them focus on graduation and on
pursuing their chosen
postsecondary goals.
Pursuing the Specialist High Skills Major–Information and Communications
Technology
enables students to:
• customize their secondary school
education to suit their interests and talents while meeting the requirements
for the OSSD;
• select a bundle of 9 required credits
focused on sector-specific knowledge and skills that are:
• valued by the information and
communications technology sector and postsecondary educational institutions;
• designed to help prepare students for a
postsecondary opportunity of their choice in this economic sector;
• designed with the flexibility to allow
students to shift between pathways (e.g., switch from a pathway leading to
college to an apprenticeship pathway) or to discontinue the SHSM program should
their career plans change in Grade 11 or 12;
• provide evidence of achievement of the
required components of the SHSM (e.g., sector recognized certifications) for
prospective employers and postsecondary educational institutions;
• explore, identify, and refine career
goals to make informed decisions about their postsecondary options;
• take part in “reach ahead” experiences
that will help them gain confidence in their ability to be successful, refine
skills and work habits, and make an informed choice about future careers and
next steps;
• identify and develop Essential Skills
and work habits that are required in the sector, using tools connected with the
Ontario Skills Passport;
• access resources, equipment, and
expertise that may not be available in their secondary school.
Required
Components for the SHSM–Information and Communications Technology:
1. A bundle of 9 Grade 11 and
Grade 12 credits (see chart on next page) that includes:
i)
4 information
and communications technology major credits that provide sector-specific
knowledge
and skills;
ii)
3 other
required credits from the Ontario curriculum, in English, mathematics, and a
choice of business studies,
science, or the arts in Grade 11 or Grade 12. In these courses, some
expectations are met through learning activities contextualized to the
information and communications technology sector;
iii)
2 cooperative
education credits that provide authentic learning experiences in a workplace
setting, enabling students to refine, extend, apply, and practise
sector-specific knowledge and skills
2. 6 sector-recognized
certifications and/or training courses/programs (3 compulsory and a choice
of 3 electives from a list of additional certifications
and training courses/programs)
3. Experiential learning and
career exploration activities within the sector
4. “Reach ahead” experiences
connected with the student’s postsecondary pathway
5. Development of Essential
Skills and work habits required in the sector, and use of the Ontario
Skills
Passport (OSP) for purposes of documentation