JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated eight graduates of the program’s second mate who got in a brand-new stage of life Friday.

The ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a brand-new start for the graduates, who are set to look for additional education or work in the Johnstown area, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the previous four months, job those registered in the program completed courses provided by a partnership amongst Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program included courses offered at Johnstown public real estate community rooms to get rid of individuals’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum included dispute management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, as well as field trips for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based production companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who enrolled, but decided out after discovering work or other more education chances along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (best), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, commemorates after receiving her Certificate of Completion during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale area of Johnstown, celebrates with graduates after getting her Certificate of during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

RJ Montague (right), of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Director Mike Alberts (center) while receiving their Certificate of Completion during the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland job Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Looking on, from delegated right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and job JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst section of Johnstown, celebrates throughout the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

Dellia Gonzalez, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, with her child Dakota Marong, 3, praises the graduates during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi congratulates the participants finishing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program throughout a graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

By Thomas Slusser
tslusser@tribdem.com!.?.! JARI Director of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi stated members of the program’s second accomplice have actually advanced to additional education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency situation medication and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to participants and finished its first accomplice in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more associates are scheduled, Grimaldi stated. The program was started by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the finest ideas we’ve had for discovering quality employees for companies in the area,”Balog stated.”We created the concept of dealing with our public housing units because many individuals had transport and childcare barriers that kept them from accessing resources outside of Johnstown’s public housing.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath said the program has assisted people”

raise themselves up and get them connected. “He praised the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, an acknowledgment offered to one authority yearly for particularly bettering the lives of its residents, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from household and friends in participation, as well as Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and agents from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s office. Fetterman, D-Pa., and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.