| durhamregion.com | This Week | Thursday, November 3, 2022 | 6 INAUGURAL MEETING OF COUNCIL TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2022 AT 7 P.M. Whitby Town Hall, 575 Rossland Road East Inaugural Council Meeting with reception to follow Residents can watch the inaugural meeting live online at whitby.ca/livestream Residents interested in attending the meeting in-person should RSVP online at whitby.ca/InauguralRSVP or call 905-430-4315 no later than November 7, 2022. Please note that space is limited. TOWN OF WHITBY COUNCIL 2022 to 2026 Elizabeth Roy, Mayor Rhonda Mulcahy, Regional Councillor Chris Leahy, Regional Councillor Steve Yamada, Regional Councillor Maleeha Shahid, Regional Councillor Steve Lee, Councillor, North Ward (1) Matt Cardwell, Councillor, West Ward (2) Niki Lundquist, Councillor, Centre Ward (3) Victoria Bozinovski, Councillor, East Ward (4) that you would as part of post-secondary ... But instead of picking a subject, you pick a career field that you're interested and passionate about," says Jillian Broadley, the DDSB's pro- gram facilitator for SHSM. The DDSB offers 67 SHSM programs with 2,499 students enrolled and is aiming to grow student enrolment as well as add three to five new SHSM programs each year. The program, usually pronounced "schism," sees Grade 11 and 12 students complete a bundle of courses in a high-skills sector that interests them while earning industry certifications like CPR and getting real life job experience through work placements. Giselle Li, a Grade 12 student in the business SHSM at Sinclair Secondary School in Whitby, says the program is "really engaging" because students get to earn business certifications and plan real events, like school fundraisers and a regional business competition. "You're not just sitting in a classroom getting taught something -- you get to take what you learn, all the content and knowledge, and then you get to apply it," she says. Ontario offers 19 different SHSM options, although not all are available at all school boards. "The Ministry of Labour had just identified 13 of these 19 programs as ... facing a skills shortage," Broadley says. According to the province, there are more than 360,000 jobs going unfilled across Ontario, which costs billions in lost productivity. Data suggests the need to replace retiring workers is elevated in the skilled trades -- in 2016, nearly one in three people in Ontario with trades certificates were aged 55 years or older. One in five new job openings in Ontario are projected to be in the skilled trades by 2025. The province introduced SHSM programs in 2005 as part of a strategy to improve high school graduation rates, reduce dropouts and see more students pursue post-secondary education. In 2004-05, Ontario's five-year high school graduation rate sat at 68 per cent. It jumped to 89 per cent for 2021, while the four-year graduation rate was 84.2 per cent. "We've really seen that engagement take place," says Stephen Hughes, student success co-ordinator at the Durham Catholic District School Board, which has 765 students enrolled in SHSM programs this year. The board offers 28 SHSM programs across its seven high schools. What does SHSM look like in practice? Students in the hospitality and tourism SHSM at Monsignor John Pereyma Catholic Secondary School in Oshawa have the chance to cook with a Durham College professor twice a week as part of dual credit program and will be touring attractions like the Kingston Penitentiary this fall to observe tourism in action. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: The Durham District School Board is working to promote SHSM programs to Grade 7 and 8 students. The programs allow high school students to focus their education on a career field they're interested in and earn valuable certifications, skills and work experience. NEWS Continued from page 3 'YOU'RE NOT JUST SITTING IN A CLASSROOM GETTING TAUGHT SOMETHING' SCAN THE CODE to read more news online at durhamregion.com. Students in the hospitality and tourism Specialist High Skills Major program at Monsignor John Pereyma Catholic Secondary School in Oshawa took part in a cooking class. Jason Liebregts/Metroland