Four Ways to Deliver an SHSM Certification
SHSM certification delivery comes down to four models, and the Ministry’s Guide has already written down the advantages and disadvantages of each. The page is Certification and training experiences in the SHSM Policy and Implementation Guide (updated October 20, 2025). It offers its four-model table as “factors to consider when selecting a delivery model”, not as a ranking. This digest reproduces that table word for word. It sets out the rules that apply whichever model you pick, then reads the trade-offs as a coordinator’s budget and calendar. For what the certifications themselves are, sector by sector, start with the certifications and ICE training guide. For the rest of the Guide by task, see the Guide in 15 minutes. Which model to use is a choice the Guide leaves to the school.
What the Guide fixes before you choose a model
Three things are not up to the school (Guide: Certification and training experiences, Requirements):
“The certifications and training courses must be specific to each SHSM sector. You may not: substitute other programs for the certifications and training courses listed for each SHSM sector in this guide; reduce the required number of certifications and training courses.”
The count is a floor, not a ceiling. The Guide continues: “You may provide opportunities for students to complete more that the required number of certifications and training.” (The typo is the Guide’s.) A board that wants something new on the list goes through the Ministry: “Your school board can also propose additional certifications and/or training that we (the Ministry of Education) review. If we approve an addition, we will add it to the list of certifications and training courses for that SHSM sector.”
The compulsory count differs by sector (Guide: Sectors, each sector page updated August 28, 2026): Construction requires five; eleven sectors require four, Health and Wellness and Business among them; and seven require three.
Then the delivery criteria, which apply to every model (Guide: Certification and training experiences, Delivery criteria):
“Certifications and training courses must be delivered by a certified trainer. This is someone recognized as an authority by the certification provider or by the sector.”
“These courses must: have an assessment and evaluation component; include, wherever possible, documentation (for example, a certificate or other proof of completion) for the student’s portfolio and their SHSM record that has the title of each completed certification or training course.”
One exception is written into the same section: “the requirement for a certified trainer does not apply to the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS).” By the Guide’s own criteria, then, WHMIS is the compulsory certification a school can deliver online with nobody certified in the room; CPR and first aid cannot be. The Guide asks for the generic form of WHMIS, not the site-specific form; the two types of WHMIS training sets out the difference and who owns each half.
The four delivery models, in the Guide’s words
The table below is the Guide’s (Guide: Certification and training experiences, Delivery models), cell by cell.
| Delivery model | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|
| Industry-delivered | current; sector-recognized; has a hands-on component; provides exposure to the sector; provides authentic learning | may be expensive; may present a scheduling challenge |
| Online training | accessible regardless of geographic location; can be completed any time (day, evening or weekend); needs little supervision; can be cost-effective | lacks a hands-on component; may not accommodate learners with special needs; may be expensive |
| Co-delivered by sector/education partner and secondary school | can be differentiated according to learner needs; fosters partnerships | needs coordination and scheduling |
| Teacher-delivered (“train the trainer” model where a teacher is certified to deliver the certification or training program) | cost-effective; sustainable and builds capacity; more easily embedded in curriculum delivery; could allow for a hands-on component; reduces scheduling challenges; can be differentiated according to learner needs | lacks sector exposure if no sector partner participates in the certification; may not be perceived as genuine or current by students |
Three things stand out once the table is in front of you. Cost is listed as a disadvantage against two of the four models, industry-delivered and online, while online and teacher-delivered are both called cost-effective. Co-delivered’s only listed disadvantage is coordination and scheduling. Only industry-delivered is credited with exposure to the sector; co-delivered is credited with partnerships, and the other two are credited with reach or sustainability instead.
SHSM certification delivery as a budget and a calendar
The Guide gives the factors; the weighing is yours. Read across a school year, the four models sort into questions a coordinator can answer.
- Industry-delivered is the answer when the certification has to be current and hands-on and the provider is recognized by the certification body or the sector. The price is a fee per student and a day on the timetable. That is what “may present a scheduling challenge” means in practice. Book early in the term, and book for the whole cohort at once.
- Online training is the answer where the certified-trainer requirement does not bite, which the Guide names as WHMIS, and where students can work alone at any hour. The Guide’s caution about learners with special needs is the one to plan around. An online module has no differentiation built in, so the school supplies it.
- Co-delivered suits a certification where the school has a teacher who can teach and a partner who can certify. It is the model the Guide credits with “fosters partnerships”, and its cost is coordination time rather than money.
- Teacher-delivered is the long-run model. Once a teacher holds the trainer certification, every later cohort is cheaper and easier to timetable. The Guide’s two cautions are about credibility with students and the absence of sector exposure. Both are answered the same way: pair the teacher-delivered certification with a sector partner somewhere else in the programme, such as an SPE.
Nothing in the Guide says a school must use one model for all its certifications. Take a programme with five compulsory certifications, as in Construction. It can reasonably run WHMIS online, first aid and CPR with a certified provider, and an elective through a teacher trained to deliver it.
What to record whichever model you choose
The record-keeping requirement does not change with the model (Guide: Certification and training experiences, Delivery criteria):
“Your school must record these courses and certifications in the student management system and include the: number of hours involved; date the certification/training was completed.”
Whoever delivers the course, the school files the hours, the date, and, wherever possible, the certificate or proof of completion with the course title on it. The SHSM requirements guide shows where those records surface on the student’s transcript and SHSM record at graduation.
What this digest leaves out
The sector-by-sector certification lists themselves live on each sector page (Guide: Sectors); this digest covers the rules and the models, not the lists. Two neighbouring pages are not summarised here: Experiential learning and career exploration and Steps for planning and delivering an SPE.
How LearnIt helps
LearnIt delivers certification days as an outside provider, under the Guide’s industry-delivered and co-delivered models: days run by LearnIt facilitators, or days designed with the school’s teachers. On 2026-04-28 LearnIt ran a leadership and customer service certification day at Toronto Metropolitan University. About 150 students from six TDSB, PDSB, and YCDSB schools attended, one date on the calendar for three boards. The certifications and ICE training guide describes the formats and the certifications LearnIt covers.
Your next step this week
List your sector’s compulsory certifications from its Guide page. Beside each one, write the model you used last year and its cost per student. Any line where the model is “online” and the certification is not WHMIS is the first one to re-check against the certified-trainer rule.