For local business owner Julien Plourde, being named the 2009 Yukon Young Entrepreneur of the year by the Business Development Bank of Canada is about much more than winning an award.

"It's going to offer a world of opportunity,” Plourde said Tuesday afternoon from Ottawa.

He was in the nation's capital attending the awards ceremony for the bank's annual event, which names a young entrepreneur for the year from each region of the country.

The 27-year-old, originally from Hearst, Ont., started his Technical Solutions Company – a business focused on providing technical expertise – in Ontario, but after a co-op work placement in the territory, he decided this was where he wanted to be, and so he moved his one-man company north.

Over the past three years, the business has grown to a staff of five now based out of a Strickland Street office.

There are continuing recruiting efforts for engineers and technicians, a task Plourde acknowledged can be a challenge in the North. However, he is more than happy to take it on, offering recruiting packages to motivate potential staff to come north.

His business also offers a program for students, where it pays the travel expenses for students to do a four-month placement with Technical Solutions.

During the summer, the company also took advantage of the Yukon government's STEP program to offer employment to a student.

Knowing how much the bank supports young business owners, Plourde said he was happy to learn he had won the award.

"It was great,” he said.

More important though, he added, were the training sessions that were being offered to him and other winners from across the country. They got to meet experts in areas like law and accounting to discuss matters around running a business.

It gave him a chance to get advice and network with others.

The sessions, he said, will help him move toward his goal of making the Technical Solutions Company a leader in electrical systems in the North.

The next step toward that will come when the company purchases space early next year rather than renting as it's done for the past year and a half.

Plourde began his career in electronics in high school, taking part in competitions across the country.

It was while he was studying electrical engineering at the University of Waterloo that he accepted a co-op placement would bring him to the Yukon.

"I (had) always been interested in the North,” he said, recalling at that time he was looking for job opportunities in all three territories.

After his work-term in the Yukon ended, Plourde said, he knew he wanted to stay here, and found work on a contract before continuing with the business he had started in Ontario.

He still has a few clients in Ontario, along with local businesses in the territory and in British Columbia. Technical Solutions often finds itself competing with larger companies.

"Most of them are more focused – whether on installation or on software development,” Plourde said in a statement.

"We cover a much broader scope and offer a total solution, combining product development with system deployment and ongoing support.”

Along with running Technical Solutions, Plourde is also a Yukon board member for Skills Canada, the same organization that was responsible for the national competitions he competed in back in high school.

BDC president and CEO Jean-René Halde noted Plourde has created a business by putting his passion and know-how to good use.

"He identified an opportunity to bring cutting-edge technical solutions to Canada's territories and successfully attracted a steady, growing clientele,” Halde said.

Plourde received his award last night.