Toronto, Ontario — September 10, 2018 — Media Matters has pressed print on what may be Bodyworx Professional’s most exciting issue ever.
From hard-rocking custom painters, to winning the gold medal for automotive painting at Skills Canada, the upcoming issue details the events and people of interest to every collision industry professional.
Take a sneak peek at the cover story, which highlights the work being done by the automotive technicians of Canada’s 2 Service Battallion.
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Repairers in the Ranks
By Jordan Arseneault
Inside a dimly lit warehouse-sized garage, stocked with light armoured vehicles and convoy trucks, Jesse Leblanc is living out his dream.
Since he was a child, Leblanc had always wanted to be a soldier.
“Growing up, I always played army and just knew the army is where I wanted to be,” Leblanc recalls.
Now 27-years-of-age, Leblanc works full-time as a vehicle technician for the Canadian forces. The warehouse-sized garage, well that’s his office, and the vehicles inside it, his work projects. Dressed in a pair of work overalls, Leblanc is right at home.
It was only seven years prior, however, when Leblanc’s reality was nothing more than a childhood dream.
Rather than enlisting immediately after leaving school, Leblanc went to Centennial College in Scarborough, spending two years taking a course to become a heavy-duty equipment technician. At 20, he took a job in a heavy equipment shop, fixing and maintaining a rental fleet.
While the employment was stable and in his field, it left the young man unsatisfied. Leblanc was determined to make sure his career aspirations didn’t slip away.
“One day I got sick of thinking about it and decided to just do it,” says Leblanc.
After researching the many roles available to members of the Canadian Armed Forces, Leblanc decided to put himself forward as a vehicle technician, realizing that the position would allow him to bridge together both his passion for the military and his expertise as a technician.
Six months after applying, Leblanc reported for basic training in St. Jean, Quebec, where he spent three months. After that, he was off to Shilo, Manitoba, where he completed his qualification as a soldier.
In order to qualify as a vehicle technician, Leblanc spent a year in Borden, Ontario, studying for and eventually receiving his Qualification Level 3, the training specific to his trade. He also gained a more in-depth understanding of what it takes to be a member of the Canadian Armed Forces.
“It was a really cool experience, I really enjoyed it,” says Leblanc. “That’s why I joined up, that’s the kind of stuff I wanted to do. I wanted to be a tech, but I also wanted to be in the military.”
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For the whole story, and much, much more, check out Bodyworx Professional’s autumn issue, available September 27.
After fifteen months of rigorous training, Leblanc’s dream had become a reality, as he was ready to start his new career.
