College of Ontario

April 2, 2008
By Sharon Aschaiek

"Return on investment" is an expression that has a unique meaning to Kay Blair.
To the executive director of Community MicroSkills Development Centre, it refers to the life-improving gains made by the several thousand people who use her non-profit agency's social services each year.

"I work in a sector where the returns on labour are not monetary, but about seeing people feeling empowered to make informed choices, move forward and make changes for themselves," Blair says.

BACK TO SCHOOL

A lifelong interest in social justice issues motivated Blair in 1983 to leave her job as a computer systems analyst and enrol in Humber College's two-year Community Worker diploma program. Now called the Social Service Program, it prepares students to work with people experiencing distressful events, and understand the individual and social causes that shape these events.

"It was a very supportive environment, and I had an opportunity to build my competencies in the human services field and move from the corporate to the non-profit world," Blair says.

She says she greatly benefited from having teachers who considered the experiences she brought to the table as an adult learner.

"If I wanted to modify any of the materials we were working on and felt it could be done at a different level, they were receptive to it," Blair says.

Part of Blair's training included completing a field placement at a centre for abused women in the Jane and Finch community.

"I wasn't doing the work from the peripheral -- I had lived that experience before, so I was able understand their perspectives, and it helped me show them they didn't have to live that way," Blair says. "You're creating hope for them because you know that things can change, and you're working to make it happen."

Blair hasn't stopped making good things happen for those in need, particularly women, immigrants and young people. After graduating from Humber in 1985, and then completing an MBA with a specialization in leadership from Royal Roads University, Blair began her current role at MicroSkills, which provides settlement, training, employment and self-employment services to members of racialized communities, particularly low-income and at-risk young women.

Under Blair's 20-year stewardship, Micro-Skills has grown dramatically, evolving from a small-scale service serving 40 people per year, to a well-established agency that's respected by funders, government and businesses and serves 20,000 people annually.

"My experience here has been very personally rewarding," says 53-year-old Blair, who's currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education OISE. "My objective is always about bringing access and opportunities for the people on the fringes of society, and enabling them to become active participants in their communities."

She says the large increase in MicroSkills' clientele is partly a minus, in that it reflects the many -- and perhaps increasing -- obstacles numerous people still face in trying to establish livelihoods and contribute to their communities. But in large part, MicroSkills' popularity is a testament to the great breadth and depth of the agency's services -- most of which have launched under Blair's leadership -- which include an employment resource centre, business start-up programs, business and IT training, job search counselling and workshops, credential assessment tools and job placement support.

Blair's strong interest in social justice has propelled her to apply her energies and expertise to many other areas, including helping United Way member agencies achieve their fundraising goals; delivering anti-racism training to the Ontario Provincial Police; consulting to the provincial and federal government and community groups on issues of access, equity and organizational and community development; and serving as the president of Ontario's first shelter for immigrant women.

"WINGS TO FLY"

Blair's significant community service work has been recognized with numerous awards, including very recently an Ontario Premier's Award. The annual awards are given to six college graduates who've made outstanding contributions to the province in creative arts, technology, health sciences, business, community services and as a recent graduate.

When reflecting on the value of her Humber College education, Blair says, quite simply, "It gave me the wings to fly." And, it could be said, wings for so many of the people who've crossed her path.