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 accomplice who got in a new phase of life Friday.

The ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a clean slate for the graduates, who are set to seek additional education or employment in the Johnstown area, stated JHA Mike Alberts.

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

The program included courses provided at Johnstown public real estate community rooms to eliminate individuals’ transport barriers.

The curriculum included conflict management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, along with school outing for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based manufacturing business consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who enrolled, however pulled out after finding employment or other further education opportunities along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (best), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, celebrates after receiving her Certificate of Completion throughout 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 section of Johnstown, celebrates with graduates after receiving her Certificate of Completion 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 (best), 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 Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Searching, from left to right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst section of Johnstown, commemorates 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 daughter Dakota Marong, 3, applauds the graduates during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi congratulates the individuals completing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program throughout a graduation ceremony 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 said members of the program’s second associate have actually advanced to further education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is provided at no charge to participants and finished its first mate in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more associates are set up, Grimaldi said. 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 very best ideas we have actually had for finding quality staff members for companies in the location,”Balog stated.”We developed the concept of dealing with our public housing systems due to the fact that many individuals had transport and kid care barriers that kept them from accessing resources beyond Johnstown’s public real estate.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director referall.us Michael Horvath stated the program has helped people”

raise themselves up and get them linked. “He congratulated the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has earned HUD recognition as a best practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority every year for specifically bettering the lives of its citizens, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from household and pals in attendance, along with Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and agents from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s workplace. Fetterman, D-Pa., and former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were crucial in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.