One of the big news announcements at this year’s PHCC CONNECT in Milwaukee was the launch of Rising Leaders, a new educational initiative offered through the Association’s PHCC Academy.

Rising Leaders is an online curriculum designed to help plumbing and HVAC professionals develop the personal and workplace skills needed for long-term career success. It offers training on topics such as financial literacy, credit management, written communication, time management and more.

One of the prime movers behind Rising Leaders is Tony Bertolino. In addition to serving as the PHCC’s National Vice President, Bertolino is Operations Manager at Rob Bertolino Plumbing & Heating, a full service, 4th generation contractor serving Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and surrounding Virginia communities.

Training the Whole Person

As if he weren’t busy enough, Bertolino is also a part-time instructor at Norfolk Public Schools, where he teaches all four years of the plumbing apprenticeship program with a focus on professionalism, problem-solving, and knowledge of the plumbing code.

During his work as an instructor, he found the system was turning out competent plumbers, but still not setting them up for future personal and business success.

“The idea for PHCC Rising Leaders really grew out of conversations among instructors, contractors, and chapter leaders who kept noticing the same trend: our industry does an exceptional job teaching technical proficiency (turning wrenches, sizing pipes, running electrical diagnostics), but we often throw young tradespeople into the deep end when it comes to navigating the workplace and their own lives,” Bertolino said.

“Often, when young apprentices struggle or leave the trades, it isn't because they can't master the mechanical skills; it’s because they hit roadblocks with time management, work-life balance, communication, or handling conflict on the job site,” Bertolino continued. “We realized there was a critical gap between apprenticeship technical training and our business ownership/management programs.”

The PHCC Academy was the natural home for the Rising Leaders Program. The PHCC National Association and the PHCC Education Foundation have both worked to make the Academy the gold standard for workforce education, apprenticeship pathways, and trade leadership development, combining the infrastructure, trust, and national reach to deliver turnkey education. By building Rising Leaders into the Academy, it can now offer contractors a complete training lifecycle.

Development, Delivery & Evaluation

In technical training, the answers are mostly black and white: a pipe holds pressure, or it leaks; a calculation is either mathematically correct or it isn’t. Interpersonal skills live in the gray area. So, for Rising Leaders, the curriculum required a different approach.

• Development: Instead of focusing on formulas and code compliance, the curriculum is structured around self-awareness, habit formation, and emotional intelligence. It covers practical concepts like setting SMART goals, establishing identity-based productivity habits, active listening, negotiation, and de-escalating job-site conflicts.
• Delivery & Teaching: While the fundamentals are delivered online, Rising Leaders isn't just about watching a screen—it’s built to be interactive and reflective. Chapters and contractors can run this in cohort-style sessions, bringing learners together to discuss real-world job-site scenarios, share experiences, and learn from peers and mentors.
• Evaluation: Leadership can’t be tested with a multiple-choice quiz. Evaluation is based on real-world application, participation, and self-assessment: Are they applying time-management principles to show up prepared? Are they communicating effectively with crew members and customers? Are they setting personal development goals? It's about observable behavior change, not memorization.

Designed for Tradespeople

One of the main barriers to any personal development program is the time commitment. Understanding the lives of working tradespeople, Rising Leaders was intentionally designed to be manageable for people dealing with busy schedules.

To get started, contractors or local PHCC chapters help identify emerging leaders within their companies or apprenticeship programs. Enrollment is handled directly through PHCC Academy (phccacademy.org/courses), and state chapters, like North Carolina and Virginia—which have already launched cohorts—can run them as structured annual or seasonal programs.

The program is divided into eight instructional modules that take learners on a progressive journey: starting with personal productivity (time management, energy management, goal-setting), moving into interpersonal dynamics (communication, conflict resolution, teamwork), and culminating in organizational leadership (project planning, motivation, and understanding the difference between managing tasks and leading people).

The curriculum is designed to be flexible. Participants complete independent online modules at their own pace (typically averaging a couple of hours per module) paired with regular monthly virtual or in-person cohort discussions. This allows working apprentices and technicians to absorb a concept, test it on the job over several weeks, and come back to debrief with their peers and mentors.

Investing in the Next Generation

Ultimately, it is Bertolino’s hope that Rising Leaders becomes a bridge between the Academy’s technical courses and soft skills courses for the betterment of the industry as a whole.

“Just as the NFL, NBA, and MLB invest in rookie orientation programs to guide young athletes transitioning into professional sports, the Foundation is giving emerging tradespeople the professional habits, mentorship, and financial literacy they need right at the start of their careers,” Bertolino said. “It’s a major commitment to the p-h-c community—ensuring young technicians don’t just stay in the trade, but thrive and become our next generation of leaders.”