JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated eight graduates of the program’s 2nd mate who entered a brand-new phase of life Friday.

The event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a clean slate for the graduates, who are set to look for further education or work in the Johnstown location, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the past four months, those enrolled in the program completed courses supplied by a collaboration among Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program consisted of courses offered at Johnstown public housing neighborhood spaces to eliminate participants’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum included conflict management, job search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and referall.us life abilities management, as well as excursion for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based manufacturing business consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, but chose out after discovering work or other further along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale area of Johnstown, celebrates after getting 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.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale area of Johnstown, celebrates with graduates 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.

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. Looking on, from left to right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, commemorates during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

Dellia Gonzalez, of the Oakhurst section of Johnstown, with her daughter Dakota Marong, 3, applauds the graduates throughout 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 praises the participants finishing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program during 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 2nd cohort have progressed to further education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency medicine and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and graduated its very first friend in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more friends are arranged, Grimaldi said. The program was initiated by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick. »This was one of the best ideas we have actually had for finding quality workers for employers in the location, »Balog said. »We created the idea of dealing with our public real estate systems since lots of people had transport and childcare barriers that kept them from accessing resources outside of Johnstown’s public real estate. » U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath said the program has actually 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 earned HUD recognition as a finest practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority each year for specifically bettering the lives of its residents, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from family and pals in participation, 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 previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were critical in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.