JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated eight graduates of the program’s 2nd cohort who entered a 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 seek more education or work in the Johnstown location, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For employment.bz the previous four months, those enrolled in the program completed courses supplied by a partnership amongst Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program consisted of courses provided at Johnstown public housing community spaces to remove participants’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum included dispute management, task search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, as well as field trips for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based production companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, but chose out after finding work or other more 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 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), https://www.jobassembly.com 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, www.huntsrecruitment.com 2025.

RJ Montague (ideal), of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Director Mike Alberts (center) while getting their Certificate of Completion during the JHA Employment & Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland 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, anotech.com of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, celebrates during 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 child 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 praises the individuals completing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program throughout a graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, career.finixia.in January 31, 2025.

By Thomas Slusser
tslusser@tribdem.com!.?.! JARI Director of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi stated members of the program’s 2nd accomplice have advanced to more education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for accreditation in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and graduated its first accomplice in June. After Friday’s graduation, rightlane.beparian.com two more mates are arranged, Grimaldi said. The program was started by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the very best ideas we’ve had for finding quality employees for companies in the area,”Balog said.”We developed the concept of working with our public real estate units because lots of people had transport and child care barriers that kept them from accessing resources outside of Johnstown’s public housing.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath said the program has actually assisted individuals”

raise themselves up and get them connected. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority every year for specifically improving the lives of its residents, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in attendance, along with Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, zeitfuer.abenstein.de 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 instrumental in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.