Joe Jordan – The Magic of the Trade

Joe Jordan is the teacher you’d want by your side to help walk you through a challenging class or subject. Along with bringing an overwhelming amount of knowledge and previous electrical trade experience, Joe incorporates fun and ease into his classroom. To lighten the mood after an intense day of learning, Joe sometimes brings his Ukulele into class to send his students off on an upbeat note, which leaves them refreshed and looking forward to their next class.

Joe started his apprenticeship in house wiring, moving on to commercial and industrial wiring. After graduating as a red seal journeyman, Joe joined Honeywell Controls company and graduated from their control system school in Minneapolis as a service technician and control system designer. From then on, control systems became Joe’s passion.

Joe then moved on to help automate the manufacturing processes at Weiser Lock Co in Burnaby, at that point, the largest lock manufacturer in Canada.

After moving to Vancouver, Joe became a member of IBEW Local 213 and worked on many projects around the lower mainland, including the control system for the inflatable roof at BC place, then BC’s new arena.

After years of technical training and experience, Joe decided to make a significant shift into teaching. He taught entry-level and then 3rd-year electronics and 4th-year programmable controls courses at the British Columbia Institution of Technology (BCIT) until his retirement.

After some time, the opportunity arose for him to design a pre-apprenticeship course for the Electrical Joint Training Committee (EJTC). “I created the original course and taught it for about a year before passing it on to other teachers and remaining involved as a backup teacher. Since then, it has blossomed way beyond my expectations. Due to the efforts of the many talented staff it has attracted, I’m impressed and feel proud to be still involved with this great school”.

What Joe is most proud of, though, are his students. “I’m most proud of all the students that I’ve been a part of their graduation journey at EJTC. Seeing them a few years down the road, thriving and attaining their goals makes me feel great!”

Joe continues to work part-time as a teacher at the EJTC and shares his passion and love for the electrical trade through his teaching and the chorus songs he shares with his students. “The trades have been advantageous and most successful for me. I feel like I have accomplished a lot, learned a lot, and grown with the trade as the years go on. I am beyond grateful that I can share the magic of this trade with others.”

Written by: Savannah Davis, ClearWater Communications Co.