Durousseau Electrical Institute (DEI) is the only electrical training facility in Los Angeles committed entirely to bringing skill-based jobs to the community. With a team of experts in the electrical field, DEI is equipped to become a leading destination for students interested in what ManPower Group has called one of the most employable and in-demand professions in the job market. Our students are technically trained, highly employable, skilled tradespeople, prepared not just to work in the field, but to have full-fledged careers.
As an LLC, DEI intends to bring these skills and opportunities to under-served communities, providing graduates with the hands-on knowledge to access over 80 different jobs in the field.
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DEI plans to be the communities’ preferred provider for all electrical maintenance training needs in the South Los Angeles and adjacent Jefferson Corridor.
DEI received the state's approval for a postsecondary career technical education facility; is on the list of approved electrical training programs in the State of California's Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, a partner with Los Angeles Unified School District’s Abram Friedman Occupational Center; and through 2nd Call, a community group that mentors residents in the areas, collaborates with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 11 in the mentoring of youths and adults in becoming electricians as a career field.
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DEI Committee Members
Teo Durousseau
Founder / Executive Director
Teo Durousseau was born and raised in the Los Angeles Community, graduating from Centennial High School in Compton.
Teo has been a licensed electrical contractor for the State of California since 1979 with State license numbers 386357 and 705095.
His established business, Durousseau Electric, is based in the Jefferson Park Neighborhood at 2526 West Jefferson Boulevard, which will also be the location of DEI.
Teo’s involvement in the electrical contracting field spans over 40 years, starting with his apprenticeship at JJ Master Electrical Company in 1972. The years have been filled with valuable experience, community observations and lifelong friendships.
Teo has seen a changing landscape in the communities that make up the area generally known as South Central Los Angeles and has committed himself to be a significant contributor to its revitalization and future sustainability. He has observed the influx of billions of dollars into the area by the federal government and at the same time has seen the phasing out of occupational skill training at local high schools. The social fiber of the community is being rocked by unemployment, drugs, inadequate education and gang violence leading to a state of despair. Skilled job opportunities are available, but the majority of the young residents do not have the training to capitalize on the opportunities.
An apprentice of Teo's, named Joe Perez, planted the seed that the guidance that Teo was offering could develop into a larger operation. Teo realized that in order for the young people of the communities to become valuable citizens, he had to gather together his lifelong friends to create a school that would provide the opportunity for these young people to be trained to be contributors to the stability of the communities in which they were born and raised.
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