Rising Leaders Program

Program Overview: The North Carolina PHCC Rising Leaders program is designed to encourage, educate, and promote new generations of trade and industry leaders. This program takes an employee through numerous education courses over a year and encourages the individual to take part actively in the advancement of others. Upon completion, the individual will be capable of promoting leadership to their peers and coworkers, possess a working knowledge of how PHCC operates, and be given the opportunity to work with leadership on the local level.

Foundation: 

1-year program

• This program runs from January – November and includes four in-person meetings and Virtual Sessions 
• Extras include Career Fairs and Local Meetings
• Mentorship and leadership opportunities
• Upon Completion of the program, candidates play an important role in helping others become successful while also fine-tuning their own leadership qualities. Opportunities to take on leadership roles with the next generation of rising leaders, serve on committees, and serve local chapters will be presented to help further cultivate leadership skills. 

Participation Expectations 

• Participation in a minimum of 75% of meetings is required (3 out of 4 meetings)
• Participation in a minimum of 2 extracurricular activities ( Career fair, local meeting, or other volunteer work.)

Application Process

• Enrollment is capped at eight students per year.
  • The program should have a cap no greater than 15 per year to ensure greater quality.

• Employer to identify the individual for enrollment. 
  • Individuals should be committed to the industry and who could find value in leadership training. This person should be of good character, display confidence, organization, trustworthiness, and punctuality, and be capable of setting a positive example to others in the industry. The employer must be a PHCC of North Carolina member.

Application 

• The employer sponsor fills it out, and should be accompanied by a letter of intent from the Rising Leader Candidate stating what makes you a unique candidate and what you hope to get out of the program. Applications must be submitted no later than December 18, 2026.  

Application Review 

• The Auxiliary and Rising Leaders committee will do this. This process ensures that all applications have been filled out properly and are accompanied by a letter of intent. Applications must be approved or waitlisted before December 31, 2026.  

Acceptance Letters 

• Letters will be emailed on December 23, 2026, to Rising Leaders and corresponding sponsors and employers. Accompanying the letter will be the date for orientation and the education schedule for Q1. 

Wait-list

• Due to the program cap, wait-listed individuals will take priority during the next enrollment period. During the application process effort will be made to contact wait-listed individuals and confirm their desire for enrollment for the following year. 

Orientation

• This orientation will be scheduled in conjunction with the Q1 board meeting. PHCC of NC hosts this orientation and should be scheduled with enough time to go over the schedule of events for students in detail and gain further insight into the needs and goals of individual Rising Leaders. Students will also receive information pertaining to the code of ethics, mentor expectations, contact information, and any other relevant information and questions. 

Rising Leaders Classes (Required)

• Time Management 
  • Time management allows us to work smarter, not harder. We don’t want leaders to suffer from being overworked because they have too much to do at one time. Students should learn time management skills to produce higher-quality work for themselves and their teams in less time.
• Conflict Resolution
  • Leadership requires dealing with conflicting ideas, beliefs, and priorities. Students will learn how to deal with conflicts properly and navigate these issues to create stronger working relationships between team members.
• Motivation 
  • Motivation explained by distinguishing intrinsic and extrinsic factors, describing the role of reward systems in motivation                                 
• Problem Solving
  • Understanding the nature of problems, critical thinking and root causes.
• Communication
  • Communication is key
• Teamwork
  • Developing good teamwork skills is paramount to leadership. We all share a goal and can accomplish it more successfully if we work together. This program should involve students working together and building the skills required to approach situations as a team instead of on their own.
• Leading vs Managing
  • The roles of leadership and management difference and describe how both contribute to team success.
• Project Planning
  • Projects are structured and managed by defining project components, lifecycle phases, planning responsibilities in workplace settings.

Extra Curricular Activities (Two a year)

• Local Chapter Attendance
  • Collaboration is important to personal success. If students wish, they can attend a PHCC Local Chapter event with their mentor or alone to speak with other members about their own journey with leadership. Local chapters meet a minimum of four times a year in Wilmington, Raleigh, Charlotte, and WNC. 

• Career Fairs
  • Schools no longer promote our industries, so the best way for students to learn about them is through people who were in their place only years before. Rising Leaders have the opportunity to participate alongside the Education team at local career fairs, where they can promote the trades and further develop their recruitment skills.

Standards

• Ethics
  • Rising Leaders must sign a code of ethics each year. This code must include an understanding of attendance and behavior, no discussion of costs, jobs, or materials, no discussion of employment or salaries, and no recruitment of other Rising Leaders. 
•  Costs
  • Program costs nothing to the Employer or the student. We’ve estimated approximately $2,500 a year per Rising Leader for the program in the state budget.

• Waitlist
  • Priority is given to those that have been wait-listed.

• Qualifications
  • Race, Sex, and Age will not be considered during the acceptance process.
    
    
• Failure to Complete
  • Failure to complete or drop out of the program will exclude the participant from being accepted in the future unless the board deems the reason for leaving excused. Examples of excuses would be medical or military service. Participants are also required to sign a Participant Responsibility Agreement outlining their financial responsibility if they do not complete the program as required.