JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated 8 graduates of the program’s second cohort 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 further education or employment in the Johnstown location, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the past 4 months, those registered in the program finished courses provided by a collaboration among Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program consisted of courses provided at Johnstown public real estate community spaces to remove individuals’ transportation .

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

The event Friday commemorated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, however pulled out after discovering employment or other further education chances along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), 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 area of Johnstown, celebrates with graduates after receiving her Certificate of Completion throughout 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 getting their Certificate of Completion throughout the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony 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 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 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 2nd mate have actually advanced to further 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 individuals and finished its very first associate in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more mates are arranged, Grimaldi said. The program was started by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was among the best ideas we have actually had for discovering quality staff members for companies in the area,”Balog stated.”We created the concept of dealing with our public housing units because 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 stated the program has actually assisted individuals”

lift themselves up and get them connected. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has made HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, referall.us a recognition provided to one authority annually for particularly improving the lives of its homeowners, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in presence, as well as 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 former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.