Meet the Trainer: Mike Chambers

TPC Instructor Mike Chambers is a Colorado Journeyman electrician also certified to teach OSHA 10- and 30-Hour for Construction. He teaches nearly every electrical course TPC Training offers, plus a few other topics. 

He spent time working as a roofer, plumber, and then a pipefitter before settling into his electrical apprenticeship. Electrical work captured his interest and his need to do something that was more cerebral than manual. 

Long before Chambers ever stepped foot in front of a class of students, he was imagining how he would teach material – in a totally different way than his high school teachers did. In his mind, he was spending time interacting with students and figuring out a way to reach every single person in the room. 

“Most of my teachers were very monotone: open to page 3, read first sentence. I wanted to try something different – how I want to be taught. I try to add humor, be engaging, and not just sitting and reading from a book or pointing to a PowerPoint,” Chambers said. 

During his electrical apprenticeship, Chambers would take time to explain concepts to fellow apprentices in ways he knew they would grasp the content. His aptitude for teaching was noticed by those who ran the program, and as a fourth-year apprentice electrician, Chambers was offered a teaching role. At the time, he wasn’t certain that teaching was in his future, but the increase in pay was a big motivator. Now, with over two decades of hindsight, Chambers knows he made the right decision. 

Starting with OSHA 10- and 30-Hour courses, Chambers taught first-year apprentices at the start and eventually he transitioned to teaching other subjects to apprentices of all levels.  

After spending time in the classroom, Chambers realized that his vocation was teaching; “seeing someone’s face light up when I explain how something works and they get it” motivates Chambers to be a better teacher. He likes the feeling of watching others learn and, by extension, succeed.  

The way that Chambers teaches now is a departure from how he got started. When he worked with electrical apprentices, he would teach the same students for a full year, two nights a week and a full day on weekends. In his role as an instructor at TPC, Chambers harnesses the energy and skills he honed as a long-term instructor into the new groups of 10-40 students he teaches every few days. He’s gotten skilled at switching teaching techniques on the fly to capture the room’s attention. He works hard to assess and understand the wide range of experience and knowledge to ensure that every student gets what they need out of the course.  

Chambers refers to instructor-led training at TPC as a fine dining experience. With instructors who are not only skilled in their own trades, but also who are avid and enthusiastic teachers, those who go through courses like those Chambers teaches with him or other TPC instructors walk out of these courses with a working knowledge of the subject matter, ready to make an impact at work the very next day.  

He teaches all electrical courses TPC offers, with the exception of PLC- and VFD-related courses; has taught plumbing and pipefitting a few times and is about to embark upon teaching OSHA 10-Hour once again. 

Outside of the classroom, Chambers enjoys a variety of hobbies. He’s a woodworker, volunteer at the Denver Rescue Mission, lover of camping and fishing, and a football fan who roots for the Broncos and Nebraska Cornhuskers. 

Chambers’ teaching skills are in high demand. At the time of posting, Chambers was traveling to a company for the twelfth time to train their staff at their facility, with a different group of learners each time. Learn more about private group training through TPC Training. 

Check out the TPC instructor-led training catalog to learn more about courses taught by instructors like Mike Chambers. 

— Jess Schmidt