Jeff Bertke, electrical trades teacher and $100 grand HFTFS winner!

This week we have a $100 grand HFTFS winner Jeff Bertke on the show!!! Jeff Bertke has been an electrical trades teacher at Upper Valley Career Center in Piqua, Ohio for 11 years. After graduating from the program in 1999, he earned his journeyman license and entered the industry with passion for the trade and a love for learning. After six years of industry experience, he was put in charge of teaching apprentices at his place of work—something he truly enjoyed and came in handy when his former high school teacher reached out to him in 2010 to ask if he was interested in teaching. Bertke’s base curriculum is NCCER Core and Electrical Level 1, which saves his students one year of apprenticeship training. He revisits the curriculum every year with his board of advisory members and makes modifications where necessary to keep the program strong. Bertke starts students in his program with an emphasis on lab and tool safety before moving them to hands-on work. Projects increase in challenge as students become more comfortable with using tools and show safety consciousness and significant competency. With the blessing of building inspectors, Bertke and his students even complete projects throughout the community for real-world experience. Originally published on November 4, 2021