By Terry Murphy

The Ministry of Education has announced an exciting new high school program. This program is part of Bill 52, which will also raise the compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 18 years old. The Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program is designed to translate and incorporate industry experience and involvement into high school credits for graduation. This will keep young people in school and give them a head start in an industry of their choice, with some preliminary training and a better chance for a job.

Can you imagine the potential effect on the landscape nursery industry? Can you imagine a graduate from an Ontario high school with a major in landscaping? Instead of industry employers searching for people, maybe these graduates will chase you for employment. Currently, 50 per cent of all high school graduates go directly into the work force. An option to major in landscaping will give our industry more visibility in the high schools and hopefully attract more young people to enter the landscape business.

It is the ministry's goal to run a pilot program at White Oaks Secondary School in Oakville during the 2006-2007 school year. A set of skills will be outlined with a direction to fulfill the mandate from the ministry. LO treasurer, Sally Harvey, has been hired as a horticulture teacher to focus on this SHSM program. She taught landscaping at West Credit High School in Mississauga last March. White Oaks aims to attract 20 students from Halton Region to pilot the program. All SHSM programs must offer high school students an education that will allow them to go into any of the four post-secondary pathways: directly to work, apprenticeship, college or university.

Landscape Ontario has been communicating with the ministry and promoting the landscape industry for many years - our efforts have paid off. The landscape industry will be one of the first trades to pilot the SHSM program. Landscape Ontario and the landscape industry have been selected because of our chapter and association infrastructure, dedication to high school job and career fairs, many classroom visits, attendance at teachers co-op and guidance counselor conventions, assistance with HOSTA and OHEC, involvement at Skills Canada competitions, involvement in apprenticeships and submissions to the ministry. We will keep you up-to-date on the SHSM project as it unfolds. This is one of the most exciting developments to occur in landscape education in Ontario.