WORLDSKILL S CHAMP DORIEN LOZEAU ON HIS TRAINING SCHEDULE
BY KATE NG
It’s been a few months Dorien Lozeau, a SkillsCanada gold medalist competed at WorldSkills 2022 in Silkeborg, Denmark. Hailing from St. Paul, Alberta, the CSN Black Ace Collision autobody technician shared his experiences with Bodyworx.
“[WorldSkills competitions are] a very helpful, wonderful experience if anyone gets the opportunity to do it,” he says.
Besides a once in a lifetime experience competing with up-and-coming autobody painters from around the world, the necessary training and preparation helps build a better painter. For Dorien, it means workdays that end with additional training and constant practice: with the goal of being able to tackle just about any tool, material or job and make the best of a stressful situation.
What keeps him going throughout these twelve-hour training days is a combination of discipline, professional standards, and knowledge that, at the end, he’ll be a highly skilled painter known across Canada for his skills.
Dorien emphasizes that these are approximate times: work shifts can and do change timings, depending on the needs of the shop. These are his training days which occur once or twice a week. He is also grateful for the short commute between his home and workplace.
“The instructors are very good at the trade, so try and take as much as you can. The result is just worth it, especially in our trade where you have a finished product to look at,” says Dorien, cheerfully.
While competitors can look forward the mentorship of national class professionals, travelling the world and networking, shop owners might be less thrilled by one of their best technicians taking time off to compete overseas, potentially impacting the shop’s turnaround.
So, why would you send your techs to compete in what some repairers have dubbed the Olympics of the Trades? In the end, it’s about the skills perfected along the way.
According to Dorien, the experience gained can be incredibly helpful and push a technician to the next level. “You learn how to be more efficient, push your products as much as you can while maintaining that quality finish.”
Ultimately, this translates to a technician who is used to working making the best work possible under stress and an extremely short deadline—in other words, less time for better results.
Shopowners with a mind for the business side of things can take advantage of these events to network with up-and-coming talent, fellow shop owners or even representatives of tooling, equipment and OEM companies.
Whether sponsoring your competing technician or painter with the latest equipment, drawing in customers by showcasing your shop’s prowess on a national level, or negotiating a deal that will benefit your shop for years to come, gathering some of the industry’s most skilled and passionate has its uses to the wise owner.
Ultimately, these are just some of the analytically beneficial advantages, on top of a chance to join an extremely exclusive event that few people will ever get to partake in.
For Dorien, 2023 will be his last WorldSkills competition, given that he has since aged out of the competing bracket and will now return to his life, now likely known as one of CSN’s most famous painters.
“Compared to last year, it’ll be slower. I mean, last year we were travelling to Germany for training, and WorldSkills in Denmark. We were travelling all over the world!”
Regardless of the fast-paced lifestyle he lived during competition season, Dorien wouldn’t change it for the world. “Just thinking back now, I really appreciate what happened. When you’re in the moment, its hard to realize what’s going on and how big of a deal it is.”
