Single mom's career move challenged by pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken some pretty hard shots at Kourtney Belisle, but the 29-yearold single mom simply refuses to break.
First the pandemic forced Belisle to close the fitness studio she owned and operated in North Bay.
A fledgling business venture started in the summer of 2019, she had to shut down last January when her studio lost heat and while she waited on a furnace repair.
When she finally got back up and running, she trained a client who subsequently came down with COVID, forcing her to close the doors again.
After quarantining, Belisle started once more to rejuvenate her business when the government announced its first provincewide lockdown in March.
“I had basically been out of business since the beginning of 2020,” Belisle said. “I had zero income from the studio and I was self employed so I didn't qualify for EI (Employment Insurance) or social assistance. Those were some really dark moments.”
Belisle finally made the gut-wrenching decision to let her business dream go in early June.
“I had to lick my wounds,” she said. “I washed my hands of the industry and I had to deal with all the business debt I'd incurred — but I'm a glass-half-full sort of person and I just kept saying an opportunity will come my way.”
On a casual stroll through the internet — “I don't even remember what I was searching for” — she spotted a flyer from Windsor's Women's Enterprise Skills Training (WEST) about a pre-apprenticeship program designed to get more women into the skilled trades.
She recalled a time in high school when she thought having a trade seemed like a good career move.
“Of course, I went to an all-girls' Catholic high school so there were zero shop opportunities.”
She inquired about the program, which is run through St. Clair College, and was told she had to live in Windsor to be eligible.
“I thought this is something I could see myself doing so I moved — in the middle of a pandemic,” said Belisle, who has no family here.
At that point in July, there was no certainty she'd even get into the program.
“I figured what have I got to lose?” she said. “Everything had collapsed. I literally lost everything and already hit rock bottom so why not go for it?”
She found a place to live for herself and her daughter Andi, a plucky four-year-old with Down syndrome who shares her mother's adventurous spirit.
Belisle continued WEST'S application process of testing, interviews and workshops.
After an initial delay, Belisle found out she had secured a place in the pre-apprenticeship program for millwrights. But instead of starting in early August, it was delayed to November.
Finally, Belisle got to start the in-school curriculum at the main campus. She was learning how to operate a CNC machine and read a blueprint among other skills. By mid-march she and others would be ready for an eight-week training placement.
COVID has stepped in once again, however, and messed with Belisle's plans.
The second provincewide lockdown announced earlier this week has led the college to postpone the WEST program until after April 26.
Other face-to-face pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeship programs have also been placed on hold due to the latest lockdown.
“It's certainly been an interesting year,” Belisle said. “Now, I'm just waiting and looking forward to getting back into it. “