The Manufacturing SHSM is divided into 5 main categories. Over the Gr 11/12 years, the student must complete all the requirements in all four categories listed.
LCVI
The Manufacturing SHSM (Specialist High Skills Major) at LCVI offers students hands-on opportunities to design, build, and innovate while developing essential skills in areas like welding, machining, robotics, additive manufacturing, and computer-aided design. Through experiential learning, certifications, sector-partnered activities, and community projects, students will explore diverse careers in manufacturing, from the skilled trades to more advanced technologies, including mechanical engineering concepts. This will prepare them for pathways in college, university, in an apprenticeship, and in the workplace. This program combines creativity, technical expertise, and real-world experience to help students succeed in a dynamic and evolving industry.
Instructor: Josh Hamilton (hamiltonj@limestone.on.ca)
LaSalle Intermediate and Secondary School
The Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program at La Salle Secondary School offers students an engaging, hands‑on learning environment focused on modern technology and traditional trades. Through sector‑specific courses, industry‑recognized certifications, cooperative education, and experiential learning, students gain practical skills and insight into real‑world applications of manufacturing, tech design, and mechanical technologies. The program emphasizes 21st‑century innovation, giving students opportunities to work with advanced Computer‑Assisted Design (CAD) software and Computer‑Automated Machining (CAM) tools, as well as leading‑edge digital fabrication technologies such as laser cutting, 3D printing, CNC automated plasma cutting, and robotic automation. Students also build strong foundations in traditional trades skills, including metal fabrication, forging, machining, and welding.
A key advantage of La Salle’s SHSM program is its ability to support a wide range of post‑secondary pathways. Students can tailor their learning experiences—whether they are preparing for skilled trades and apprenticeships, exploring college‑level technology programs, or aspiring to pursue engineering at the university level. By combining hands‑on technical training with exposure to cutting‑edge digital tools and real workplace experiences, the SHSM program helps students clarify their interests, strengthen their portfolios, and confidently transition into whichever pathway best aligns with their goals and ambitions.
Instructor: Dan Creighton (creightond@limestone.on.ca)
Sydenham High School
Instructor: Brian Moelker (moelkerb@limestone.on.ca)
Potential Occupations
- Woodworker
- Manufacturing Technician
- HVAC Manufacturing
- Mechanical Engineer
- Electrician for Manufacturing
- And More!
Credit Requirements
Students must complete 3 compulsory and 3 elective certifications and/or training courses/programs that are recognized by the manufacturing sector.
Example Compulsory Certifications
Example Elective Certifications
- Asbestos Awareness
- Cargo Load Securement
- Confined Space Awareness
- Crane and Rigging Awareness
- Customer Service
- Electrical Safety Awareness Training
- Fall Protection
- Fire Safety
- Forklift Operator
- Health and Safety
- Hot Work Awareness
- Lock Out/Tag Out
Reach Ahead Experiences
- Workplace
- Apprenticeship
Co-Op
Cooperative education provides secondary school students with a wide range of rigorous learning opportunities connected to communities outside the school. It is designed to recognize and respond to the diversity of Ontario’s student population, and it can engage all students.
In cooperative education, students learn in safe, culturally responsive environments in the community, and they are actively involved in determining what they learn, how they learn, when and where they learn, and how they demonstrate their learning.
Students must complete a minimum 2 credit coop in a related course. This can include summer coop and paid coop placements.
Summer coop can happen immediately after a student completes Grade 10.
A student becomes a Grade 11 student July 1 after they complete Grade 10.
Summer coop is a very good option for students who worry that they won't have room in their timetable in Grade 11 or 12 to take two credits of coop.
Resources