What is the Specialist High Skills Major program?

The Specialist High Skills Major program is a bundle of eight to 10 courses that is targeted to the student's selected field.  Students learn everything that they normally would, but the course content is tailored to make it more relevant to the career path that matches their individual goals and interests.  

Other benefits of the Specialist High Skills Major program:

• gives students the opportunity to explore, identify, and refine career goals and make informed decisions related to postsecondary education or training and next steps towards a career

• helps students gain confidence in their ability to succeed, and see the connections between their studies, the world beyond high school and their future careers

• allows students to earn industry-recognized certifications, such as first-aid and CPR

• helps students begin to establish relationships and networks in their chosen field.

 Information on 2009-10 majors

There are 16 Specialist High Skills Majors being offered for the 2009-10 school year:

o        Agriculture

o        Arts and Culture

o        Aviation and Aerospace

o        Business

o        Construction

o        Energy

o        Environment

o        Forestry

o        Health and Wellness

o        Hospitality and Tourism

o        Horticulture and Landscaping

o        Information and Communications Technology

o        Justice, Community Safety and Emergency Services

o        Manufacturing

o        Mining

o        Transportation

Specialist High Skills Majors are available in more than 430 high schools and at every school board in the province with a high school.

Roughly 20,000 students will take one of the 16 majors this year, compared with 600 students just three years ago.

Results of Student Success programs

Over the last five years, the province has introduced new programs that better engage high school students.  Instead of using a one-size-fits-all approach, these programs, for example, the Specialist High Skills Majors, allow students to customize their high school experience to match their strengths, interests and career goals. This creates a more engaging learning environment for students and better prepares them to pursue future opportunities beyond high school.

A direct result of these supports and resources has been a gradual increase in the number of students graduating from high school each year.

Last year, 77 per cent of Ontario students graduated with a high school diploma, two percentage points more than in 2006-07. This represents an increase of nine percentage points - or 13,500 more students graduating annually - compared to 2003-04.