Two men smiling as they work in an electrical shop

Meet the Instructors


Shane Dalager

Program Chair/Instructor   

Shane Dalager

Shane is a Red Seal Electrician, completing his training at Thompson Rivers University in 1997.  He holds certification as a Class "A" Field Safety Representative, Electrical Inspector, and a British Columbia Provincial Instructor Diploma. Having worked in the Residential, Commercial, and Industrial fields wiring everything from custom homes, hospitals, high-rises, and overhead door controls to top drive units.  Having years of electrical instructional experience at both the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and the Electrical Dept at VIU, He enjoys helping students interpret the ever changing and exciting field of electrical installations - everything from transposing formulas, working through complicated code rules to designing motor control circuits and bending conduit.

Phone: 250.740.6563, Local 6563
Email: Shane.Dalager@viu.ca

Deanna Pye

Instructor

Deanna is a Red Seal Electrician, completing her apprenticeship in the early eighties, and having developed the Electrical Program at VIU Deanna has both chaired and instructed in the department since 2007. She has been involved in co-generation projects in Northern Alberta, electrical preventative maintenance at the Cold Lake Air Force Base, high voltage substation construction, oil field construction in Fort McMurray, high-rise commercial offices in Toronto, fire alarm systems, numerous residential and commercial projects and marine electrical in Brisbane, Australia. Deanna has also conducted Electrical Training Gap Analysis in Mongolia and the Bahamas, is actively involved in the CSA Code development, holds an A FSR (Field Service Representative certification) and a Provincial Instructors Diploma. She finds it rewarding to help students gain the skills they need to become independent, capable, and optimistic about their future.

Phone: 250.740.6563, Local 6563
Email: Deanna.Littlejohn@viu.ca

Samuel Johnson

Instructor

Samuel is a Trades Qualified Red Seal Electrician, Provincial Instructors Diploma, and 'B' level contractor. He has extensive work experience in the electrical trade as an electrical contractor, and 17 years’ experience as an industrial electrician, 12 of those years as foreman. He has worked on high rises and commercial projects, in new construction and renovations, done tenant improvements, service work and a variety of maintenance. He enjoys helping people grasp the underlying concepts that make understanding the vast and always evolving electrical field easier, and he likes seeing students come back for the different levels of training and to see their confidence and talent grow.

Phone: 250.740.6563, Local 6563
Email: Samuel.Johnson@viu.ca

Richard Kobayashi

Instructor PIDP, RSE, FSR

Richard is a Red Seal Journeyman Electrician who started his Electrical Trade career in 1988 after over eight years in the Sawmill Industry. With various experiences in the Residential, Commercial and Industrial areas of the Electrical Trade Richard worked as an Installation and Service Electrician as well as an Electrical Contractor. During this time, he worked on various Residential housing, Commercial Addressable Fire Alarm projects and extensively with Programmable Logic Controllers and Automated Control Systems.

Richard began instructing at British Columbia Institute of Technology in 2007, completed his BC Provincial Instructors Diploma in 2012 and has instructed all four levels of the Electrical Apprenticeship Program including Electrical Foundation and evening part time study courses in PLCs and Automated Controls during his over 12 years there. Richard has been a Certified Field Service Representative since 1992 and is a Certified National Advanced Lighting Controls Instructor.

Since joining Vancouver Island University in 2019 Richard continues share all of his vast training, skills, knowledge and experiences with students in the classroom, shop and labs. It is important to him that his students have a great learning experience at VIU and find their way to prosperous and rewarding careers in the Electrical trade.

Email: Richard.Kobayashi@viu.ca

Damien Miles

Instructor

VIU Electrician Instructor, Damien Miles

Damien is a Red Seal-endorsed Construction Electrician, holding a BC Master Electrician, FSR-B certificate.  He began his time in the electrical trade in 2005, completing his Red Seal Certification in 2010 at Vancouver Island University.  Over the course of his electrical career, Damien has worked for nearly 9 years as a service technician in and around many Vancouver Island communities. This role challenged Damien to maintain, troubleshoot, retrofit, and build-from-scratch electrical systems in residential homes, banks, grocery stores, medical facilities, and many other commercial and industrial buildings.  He also spent 4 years in the Alberta Oil Sands working as an Industrial Construction Electrician and Quality Control Lead Hand. Upon returning from Alberta, Damien spent 3 years as a Human Resources advisor, recruiter, and Safety Coordinator for a Nanaimo-based electrical contractor, hiring over 300 employees as well as coordinating the company to achieve their COR Safety certification.  Damien has a genuine passion in mentoring, aiding, and instructing students from all walks of life toward reaching their Red Seal Endorsement.

Email: Damien.Miles@viu.ca

Terry Fedchuk

Electrical Tool Room /Instructional Assistant

Terry Fedchuk, VIU Electrician Instructor

Terry completed his Electrical apprenticeship at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology where he received his Journeyman Red Seal Certificate in 1979, and became a Master Electrician in 1988. He has experience in industrial, commercial, and residential projects and has also owned his own electrical contracting company. He has his BC Instructor’s Diploma and is very passionate about the electrical industry – he finds passing his knowledge onto students very rewarding.

Phone: 250.753.3245 Ext. 2054
Email: Terry.Fedchuk@viu.ca