Blaine Boutin has been named the 2013 Canadian Technician of the Year.
Boutin, who grew up in the Clyde area, now lives in Edmonton and works as the shop foreman at DynEco Automotive. He received his award at a gala event Oct. 5 in Mississauga, Ont.
“It’s quite an honour,” he said after returning from the gala. “It’s getting recognized for something you do as your job.”
Boutin explained the award is about more than a technician’s technical skills, but rather who the technician is within the industry.
“It’s not a skills competition; we don’t actually do any skills testing,” he said. “This is more how you contribute to the industry and what you do.”
Boutin has three to four years of experience with the provincial apprenticeship committee, working on curriculum for and testing of new automotive apprentices. He said he suspects that involvement helped him to win over the seven other finalists.
Growing up on a farm played a big role in Boutin’s career path.
From a young age he was working with demolition derby cars and stock cars, gradually instilling a passion for automotive work in him.
“I’ve always done a lot of work tinkering with cars and whatnot,” he said.
Upon graduating from R.F. Staples, he went to NAIT for electrical engineering, but soon learned that was not his passion.
He opted to get into automotive repair instead, and now uses his electrical background to specialize in computer and electrical diagnostics.
It may be what he wants to do with his life, but he admits it comes with a wide variety of challenges to overcome.
“I’m not saying it’s the easiest job in the world, but there are some rewarding parts to it,” Boutin said.
With new technologies coming on line regularly, he said he has to keep learning to be able to help his customers through their problems.
Boutin said what it comes down to is that he enjoys repairing cars and helping people out when they bring in their cars.
“You can give them results and help fix them and make them happy and take their pain away,” he said.
He has been with DynEco for more than a decade. In that time he has seen many customers many times over the years, building a rapport that goes beyond the simple customer-garage relationship.
“It is satisfying when they’re grateful and show gratitude for helping them out and getting things fixed up,” Boutin said.
