JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and linked web site Training Program commemorated eight graduates of the program’s second cohort who went into a brand-new stage of life Friday.

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

For the previous four months, those registered in the program finished courses offered by a partnership among Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program included courses supplied at Johnstown public housing community spaces to get rid of participants’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum consisted of dispute management, job search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and horizonsmaroc.com Excel, and life skills management, along with expedition for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based manufacturing companies including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, cheekarayab.ir however chose out after finding employment or other further education chances along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale area 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 section 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 getting their Certificate of Completion during the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland [Redirect-307] Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Looking on, from delegated right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, jobs.assist-staffing.com 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 section 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 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 second associate have progressed to additional education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for accreditation in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is provided at no charge to participants and finished its very first mate in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more mates are set up, Grimaldi stated. The program was initiated by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick.”This was among the very best ideas we’ve had for discovering quality staff members for companies in the area,”Balog said.”We created the idea of dealing with our public housing units since lots of people had transport and child care barriers that kept them from accessing resources beyond Johnstown’s public housing.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath said the program has helped people”

lift themselves up and get them connected. “He congratulated the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, a recognition offered to one authority each year for particularly the lives of its citizens, Alberts said. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from family and good friends in presence, in addition to 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 contributed in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.