‘Someone in My Corner’: How WorkBC Helped Kay Build a Customized Career

Kay knew it would happen someday. Someday, someone would take a chance on them. Someday, they would get a call and the voice on the other end of the line would say, “We’d love to hire you.”

Over several years, Kay overcame obstacle after obstacle to earn a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies. As a queer and disabled artist, they had dreams of putting a passion for arts and advocacy to work in the North Okanagan. Finding a permanent job after graduating, however, would call for the kind of unwavering resilience they’ve been practicing all their life—and the unwavering belief and dedication of a WorkBC Centre employment advisor.

An area of focus for Kay during their time at UBC-Okanagan was exploring the ways the arts and humanities is becoming digitized, and the ways disabled people share their stories in an era of digital storytelling. Crossing over all of that, for Kay, is an interest in considering how a patriarchal bias is influencing how the arts is being archived digitally.

“It’s highly specialized,” says Kay, with a laugh. “There are not a lot of jobs for that.”

That said, Kay knew there had to be some kind of position where their background in digital arts and community-building could shine, and early on they turned to the WorkBC Centre in Vernon for help.

Kay was connected to their employment advisor, Kate, and soon they were developing  a customized employment plan. Kay already had a great resume and they’re a confident speaker, so many employment workshops weren’t a fit for them. Also, as a neurodivergent person with sensory processing challenges, it can be tricky to coordinate the technology they need instructors to use in group settings.

“My whole life, I’ve been trying to fit into these strange boxes,” says Kay.

During their studies, Kay needed to focus only on school work and couldn’t apply for internships. After graduating, the internships they were interested in were only available to graduates under age 30, and Kay was now 31.

“I aged out of a lot of opportunities.”

As Kay and Kate began to explore job postings and as Kay set out for interviews at local non-profits, initial feedback was that Kay didn’t have enough experience.

“That’s what I was running into, and it’s been that way my whole life,” says Kay. “I just wanted someone to take a chance on me.”

Kay, in fact, did have some incredible experience. They’ve run a small business selling their own art and they’re one of the lead organizers of Vernon Pride, which hosts events to encourage awareness, and offer supports and networking opportunities for the local 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Within a few weeks, an opportunity came up for a tutor and Kay got the job.

“Kate was so excited for me,” says Kay. A few months later, however, the position was made redundant and Kay was laid off.

Kay updated their resume and began another job search alongside Kate. A role as a grant coordinator for another local non-profit was also short-lived.

“Kate kept saying, ‘Hang in there. It’s going to be OK.’ She worked so hard to make sure I felt acknowledged and she was always in my corner.”

The job search carried on. Eventually, a Vernon position with Boys and Girls Club (BGC) Okanagan came up. It was a temporary role involving liaising with foster parents, but something about it felt right. Kay had a good feeling. At the interview, and later, in the office, BGC managers were asking what they could do to support Kay in the day-to-day.

“I had this whole team of people who believed in me, and Kate was a big part of that. They all worked so hard to make it work.”

A few months in, Kay learned BGC was reorganizing roles in the valley, and that they wanted to keep Kay in the Vernon foster parent support role permanently.

The work was proving rewarding, and the workplace environment was accommodating.

Kay supports the caregivers of foster children by connecting them with other community resources and seeing how Kay can be of help along the journey. Sometimes, that means taking steps to help a child get appointments to get a health diagnosis, sometimes it’s getting a spot in a summer camp, sometimes it’s helping to create a scrapbook so the foster child has a beautiful record of this time in their life.

“Sometimes the parents say, ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you.’ That feels really good.”

The space Kay does that work in has felt supportive too: The area has low lighting, it’s scent free and Kay has some optional work-from-home hours for working on reports.

“I’m really enjoying the work and as long as I’m supported to thrive, I can see myself there for a while.”

These days, Kay also tells others facing multiple employment barriers to have hope, and to try the supports available at WorkBC.

“They can help you navigate all of that,” says Kay. “Just having someone on your team looking out for you means so much.”

Are you facing barriers in finding work? Learn more about how WorkBC Centre Vernon supports job-seekers on the journey to employment, and get started.

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