Find Out More

Tag: SHSM Compliance

  • How Did Co-Op Requirements Change in 2025-6 for SHSM? Find Out Here…

    How Did Co-Op Requirements Change in 2025-6 for SHSM? Find Out Here…

    The Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program is entering the 2025–2026 school year with several important updates that directly affect how schools assign and track co-operative education credits. Although the overall structure of SHSM remains the same, the Ministry has introduced operational changes that educators need to be aware of when planning student timetables, placements, and graduation pathways.

    These changes don’t alter the purpose of SHSM or the number of co-op credits required—but they do influence how those credits can be earned and how they are recognized within the SHSM framework.

    The Co-op Requirement Itself Isn’t Changing

    Students are still required to complete two co-op credits that directly connect to their SHSM sector. This remains a core part of SHSM because it ensures every student gains authentic, sector-aligned experience—whether in health care, business, ICT, transportation, arts and culture, or any other recognized sector.

    Schools may still offer students the opportunity to earn additional co-op credits—up to six in total—depending on scheduling and placement availability. The minimum requirement, however, continues to be two.

    What Is Changing: More Flexibility in Co-op Delivery

    The most significant update for 2025–2026 is the Ministry’s expanded recognition of courses delivered under the co-op delivery type (OnSIS code “4”). Any course carrying this delivery code may now be counted toward the SHSM co-op requirement, provided the placement remains sector-relevant.

    For educators, this introduces meaningful flexibility. It allows newer or alternative co-op formats—such as community-based partnerships or innovative placement models—to be recognized more consistently. This can be especially helpful in schools that face placement shortages or run SHSM sectors with limited employer availability.

    In practice, this means schools can diversify co-op opportunities without worrying about whether the specific delivery structure will be accepted within the SHSM framework.

    New Priority Rules for Credit Allocation

    Alongside the delivery-type update, the Ministry has implemented a new system for applying credits to SHSM requirements. The updated rules prioritize credits in the following order:

    1. Higher-grade credits are applied first.
    2. When credits come from the same grade level, the earliest earned credit is applied first.

    This change is primarily administrative, but it does impact how credits appear when educators audit student progress. Guidance counsellors and SHSM leads may notice that credits populate differently in tracking tools and student information systems than they did in previous years.

    Early review of student SHSM bundles is recommended to ensure that credits are being applied as expected.

    Sector Relevance Remains Non-Negotiable

    Although schools now have more flexibility in how co-op courses are delivered, sector alignment is still mandatory. A placement must clearly match the student’s SHSM sector for the credits to count.

    This means learning plans, employer agreements, and documentation must continue to demonstrate a sector-specific connection. The expanded delivery type does not replace or reduce this requirement.

    What Schools Should Do Moving Forward

    Guidance Counsellors

    • Review how your SIS handles the new SHSM 25 credit-allocation rules.
    • Audit SHSM students’ credit progress early in the year.
    • Confirm sector relevance before approving placements.

    Co-op Teachers

    • Ensure co-op courses are using the correct delivery code.
    • Maintain strong documentation linking tasks to SHSM sectors.
    • Use the added flexibility to explore new or non-traditional placements.

    SHSM Leads / Administrators

    • Update any internal tracking sheets or checklists used for SHSM audits.
    • Share the new rules with staff involved in SHSM programming.
    • Review partnership opportunities that may now fit more easily into SHSM co-op requirements.

    A Clearer, More Flexible SHSM Landscape

    The 2025–2026 updates don’t change the heart of SHSM—they strengthen it. By providing more flexibility in co-op delivery and simplifying how credits are recognized, the Ministry has made it easier for schools to support diverse learners and offer more sector-relevant, meaningful experiences.

    For educators, the key shift is operational: the requirement stays the same, but the path toward fulfilling it is now more adaptable.

    By Carmen Reis, CPA, MA

    Carmen is the CEO of Flashpoint Training and Flashpoint Ignite. She can be reached by email at carmen@flashpointtraining.com

  • Who Trains SHSM Teachers?

    Who Trains SHSM Teachers?

    Each September, hundreds of educators across Ontario take on the role of SHSM Lead — coordinating certifications, planning Reach-Ahead experiences, and ensuring their students complete all components of the Specialist High Skills Major.

    But there’s a quiet truth behind the program’s success:
    Most SHSM Leads are learning how to run it while they’re already running it.

    A Patchwork of Guidance

    Across the province, SHSM training looks different in every board.
    Some teachers inherit binders and folders from their predecessors. Others attend a brief PD session in the fall, led by a board coordinator who’s balancing dozens of programs. A few lucky ones connect with a mentor who’s been through it before.

    There is no standardized onboarding — no single, shared understanding of what a “compliant” SHSM looks like.
    Each school builds its own rhythm, its own documentation system, its own interpretation of Ministry expectations.

    The Cost of Inconsistency

    That variability shows up everywhere:

    • Data that looks different from school to school.
    • Certifications recorded one way in one place, and another elsewhere.
    • Evidence that’s difficult to verify during audits.
    • Staff turnover that resets a program’s momentum each time someone new steps in.

    Despite these challenges, teachers make it work — often through collaboration, creativity, and long hours spent navigating systems meant to simplify, but not to teach.

    How Do We Know?

    We’ve seen it firsthand.
    Our work with school boards across Ontario has shown us just how dedicated — and often overwhelmed — SHSM Leads can be.
    We’ve stood beside teachers as they launched their first SHSM programs, helping them navigate requirements, build partnerships, and understand the mountain of compliance details that come with the role.

    We’ve listened to the same story again and again:

    “I love the program — I just wish someone had shown me how to do it right from the start.”

    What is standard in one place, is not the standard in another.

    The truth is, Ontario’s SHSM success depends not just on great students, but on confident, well-supported teachers.
    And right now, many of them are figuring it out on their own.

    The Question Worth Asking

    Ontario’s SHSM programs are designed to connect education and industry, to make learning hands-on and future-focused.
    Yet the educators who deliver those programs often have to teach themselves how to stay compliant, how to track effectively, and how to prepare for audits that can impact funding and credibility.

    If SHSM is meant to model innovation, shouldn’t the way we train and support its teachers reflect that too?

    By Carmen Reis, CPA, MA

    ____________________________________________

    Carmen is the new Executive Director at Flashpoint Training and has spent a decade designing, evaluating and working with Experiential learning programs, building partnerships and growing training capacity across Ontario.

    We welcome your questions, comments and inquiries.

    If you would like to reach Carmen or any member of our team, email contactus@flashpointtraining.com