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Earlier this year, I dropped in for a visit with two of my favorite instructors in the hydronics trade — Alan Mercurio and Dave Holdorf.

Mercurio is a lead instructor at PPATEC (Pennsylvania Petroleum Association Technical Education Center), the school I visited in Middletown, Pennsylvania. Holdorf — Taco Comfort Solutions’ Product and Applications Instructor, East, and who spends much of his time traveling for Taco — was back at PPATEC by popular demand.

The course offerings at PPATEC are specifically tailored to train HVAC/R and hydronic technicians in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. Member companies contribute to coursework to help design training programs that offer students a direct, hands-on learning experience that results in strengthening the professional skills of their employees.

In some instances, coursework ensures that participants maintain proper industry certifications. And, often, those member companies sponsor their tech employees to attend the schooling. Mercurio apologized, saying that he wasn’t scheduled to teach that day, but Holdorf was in the thick of it.

Some of the students fund their own training, hoping — especially for the 10-week, full-immersion experience (the HVAC & Energy Professional Program) that was in progress at the time of my visit — that they may find employment during the course.

In fact, that actually happened for four of the five students in the course. It’s a benefit that PPA’s staff goes to extraordinary measures to leverage the association’s 450-plus member company network to identify prospective employers who are eager to hire. In some cases, that results in students receiving multiple offers.

Extraordinary students, and labs

I left there humbled by the staff’s dedication, glad that they’re helping to reverse the trend of a declining trade workforce, and so appreciative that they give so much of themselves to a growing population of young, eager and (soon) newly-minted technicians. The latter appreciation extends to the HVAC dealerships that have smartly sponsored the training for the budding trade pros.

PPATEC’s staff are some of the very best in the business of educating HVAC trade pros. The instruction they offer is energized and compelling, with practical application explained, presented, and then practiced in labs by students until they’ve achieved just the right comfort level. Oh, and those HVAC/hydronic labs? I’m no expert in lab design, but I’ve seen and learned in loads of them; PPATEC’s labs are extraordinary.

PPATEC training consists of 100+ courses offering insight into many facets of HVAC business, from technical training and leadership to communications. Titles are too numerous to mention completely, though here are several of them:

• Gas heating fundamentals of installation + servicing;
• A/C principles, theories, installation + troubleshooting;
• Technical conversations with customers;
• Oil heating fundamentals of installation, servicing & troubleshooting;
• Advanced hydronics;
• Heat pump operation, testing + troubleshooting;
• Low level carbon monoxide safety;
• Troubleshooting low voltage wiring; and
• Water treatment basics.

Surprised? I was too. As you can see, the link to “Pennsylvania Petroleum Association” is a bit confusing, as the courses provide an amazing diversity of instruction.

The 10-week, college-level course that I had a short experience with this time around is titled “HVAC & Energy Professional Program.” It’s an immersive experience that’s as fun as it is educational. I knew that to be the case because, when I arrived, I could hear waves of laughter coming from one of the classrooms. Evidently, the students were enjoying the experience.

I stuck my head into the class to see who was the conductor and resident humorist. Sure enough, holding the student’s attention was one of the funniest, most talented hydronic pros I’ve come to know: Holdorf was chosen to provide a full day of “Hydronics 101” training.

This wasn’t Holdorf’s first trip to the PPATEC facility, not by a long shot. He visits routinely; in fact, he designed the facility’s gas lab piping systems (and Taco donated many of the hydronic components there).

Lift through it

During the lunch break (the food was fabulous), the students met with me individually.

The first young trade-pro-in-training to speak with me was Ben Farber — an imposing young military vet wearing a tightly-stretched “Lift through it” T-shirt that evoked not only his obvious passion for weight-lifting, but for life as well. His eight years of military duty had taken him from Georgia to Washington state, Iraq, Germany, Afghanistan and Texas. Clearly, Farber’s lifted himself through life’s challenges to arrive at the threshold of a new career. Farber’s GI Bill paid for his first “tour of duty” at PPATEC.

Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania-based Constant Comfort, immediately saw compatibility in Farber during PPATEC’s career event a few weeks earlier and agreed to hire him.

Farber lives with in Annville, Pennsylvania, with his wife and two pups, about 30 miles from the school. Previously, he was a health and phys ed teacher – an accomplishment that required four years at West Chester University. He then taught for three years, only to learn it wasn’t the best fit for him. Farber longed to work with his hands – a common theme among PPATEC’s trainees – and that desire led to the new opportunity to dive into a completely new discipline.

“I’ve loved every minute of the training here,” he said. “Working with my hands will be a real gift, and I want to make the most of it.” He said that, as a child, he was the guy who “loved breaking stuff and putting it back together again.” He’ll soon be making good money while doing just that.

Eric Snyder, another student, worked in factories for 15 years before making his move into the HVAC industry. His work, previously, had taken him from paper mills into food packaging, and though the money was decent and he’d already purchased a home, he’d hit what he described as a “plateau.”

Snyder, still single, couldn’t attend technical school earlier because of the financial commitment it required, so he saved. Of the six students in this course, he’s the only one who was paying his own way through the training. “It’s a substantial investment, so I can assure you I’m all-in,” he said. “Some parts of ‘my American dream’ are already in place, but other parts – a family and the ideal job – are ahead of me. I’m working on it.

“My experience in the HVAC industry is like walking into a room with a dozen doors,” continued Snyder. “Each one of those doors represents a new and exciting option: refrigeration, electrical, plumbing, hydronics, etc. I’m loving it.

“Dave Holdorf’s an excellent instructor,” he added. “He’s really given me a clear understanding of hydronics.”

Snyder now sees a compelling connection between his previous years in the factory – where, if a mechanical problem developed, he was expected to fix it – and his new career in HVAC. “I’m always trying to fine-tune and to fix things, so the new career will be a great fit. There’s real job security in it, too. After all, HVAC systems are made up of a lot of moving parts that sometimes break down. Here I come.”

Daniel Segundo, from neighboring Harrisburg, accepted a job offer three weeks earlier from Home Climates, based in Elizabethtown, during PPATEC’s recent career day.

Segundo was raised in Brooklyn. But he and his wife, and their five children made the decision – for the kids – to move to Central Pennsylvania two years earlier — influenced, in part, by an uncle who lives in nearby Carlisle. Previously, he’d served as a department manager for McDonald’s and as a hiring manager for Amazon.

“My brother owns a construction firm in North Carolina,” he explained. “So when I told him I was planning a move into electrical work, he said ‘No, take a close look at HVAC.’ So I did, to find that there’s plenty of electrical work in HVAC, along with air conditioning, heating, plumbing and refrigeration – a discipline that I find especially interesting.”

Segundo explained that one facet of the HVAC industry appealed to him uniquely: safety. “I think of our children, and their safety. If problems are ignored, HVAC equipment can potentially be dangerous or even deadly. Toxic refrigerants can escape, or carbon monoxide can infiltrate a home if an appliance is improperly vented. So that became the real connection for me.”

Alex Kreider, from Lancaster County, began his journey in the trades a year ago as a senior intern at Stevens, Pennsylvania-based Vertex Mechanical. Josh VanderPlate, the company’s CEO, eagerly offered Kreider a partial scholarship for PPATEC’s intensive 10-week course; additional scholarship funds were provided by PPATEC.

Kreider began his work with Vertex as an intern during high school. He’s worked in the warehouse, helped with parts delivery, and then as an assistant with install work. “That’s when I really got inspired,” he said. Kreider worked for six weeks with installation crews – just prior to his full-time schooling at PPATEC. “Now, I really look forward to going back to jobsite work,”

“We’re delighted with Alex’s growth here, and at the school,” added VanderPlate. “We’ve seen a real transformation in him. He’s gained a lot of valuable skills – and through them, a real sense of confidence. The school experience has been nothing less than a greenhouse for personal and professional growth.”

Kreider said that the PPATEC training has given him real appreciation for heat pump refrigeration theory, the complexity of electrical circuits, fuel oil burner trouble-shooting (“a lot like diesel engine work, which I love,” and the incredible flexibility of hydronics.”

Eric Love, who lives just five minutes from PPATEC’s training center, got his pink slip from a warehouse-cleaning enterprise that folded months ago. That meant he was eligible for state “Career Link” funding for the PPATEC training. He had previous HVAC experience, and a genuine interest in air conditioning.

Love’s personality, skill set and new training was the right combination for an immediate hire by HB Home Services, a division of HB McClure, one of the area’s largest mechanical contracting firms.

Love, like all the others, enjoys hands-on work, and so PPATEC’s focus on lab work had real appeal. Prior to his most recent job, Love worked for an HVAC installer, doing installation and service work, and plumbing.

“I now have much greater control over my own career,” he said. “That’s rewarding, and also a source of confidence. I see that the more I put into my career, the more I’ll get out of it. I’m motivated, and I see a really good future.”

Years earlier, Love bought a home nearby, put a lot of sweat equity into it and now rents out four apartments there as a source of income.

“Rental units, like life, require maintenance and care,” he stated. “After investing in the home’s new roof, boiler repair and a backed-up sewer (he was there to help), he drew connections to his immersion into PPATEC’s training. “Sometimes life, too, requires an investment and care to secure a better future. That’s what this experience is all about.”