JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated 8 graduates of the program’s second accomplice who got in a brand-new phase of life Friday.

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

For the previous 4 months, those registered in the program finished 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 community spaces to get rid of individuals’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum consisted of dispute management, task search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, in addition to school outing for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based manufacturing business including Kitron and studentvolunteers.us Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday commemorated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who enrolled, but pulled out after finding work 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 on Friday, January 31, 2025.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale section of Johnstown, commemorates 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. 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, celebrates 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 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 individuals completing 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 said members of the program’s 2nd accomplice have actually advanced to more education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for certification in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to participants and finished its very first mate in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more friends are set up, Grimaldi stated. The program was started by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick. »This was among the finest ideas we have actually had for finding quality staff members for companies in the location, »Balog said. »We developed the idea of working with our public real estate units because many individuals 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 stated the program has helped individuals »

raise themselves up and get them linked. « He congratulated the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, a recognition provided to one authority every year for specifically improving the lives of its homeowners, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from family and good friends in attendance, in addition to Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and representatives from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s office. Fetterman, D-Pa., and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were critical in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.