JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated eight graduates of the program’s second associate who entered a new phase of life Friday.

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

For the past four 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 housing community spaces to get rid of participants’ transport barriers.

The curriculum consisted of dispute management, job search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, along with school trip for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based production companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who enrolled, however opted out after discovering employment or employment other further education opportunities along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), employment of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, commemorates 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.

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 ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland employment 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 event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Searching, from delegated 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 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 section 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 participants completing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program throughout 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 second cohort have actually advanced to further education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and graduated its first friend in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more cohorts are arranged, Grimaldi said. The program was started by former JARI Workforce Development Director employment Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the finest concepts we’ve had for discovering quality employees for employers in the location,”Balog stated.”We created the concept of working with our public real estate units because many individuals had transportation and child care barriers that kept them from accessing resources beyond Johnstown’s public real estate.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath stated the program has actually 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 earned HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority every year for employment especially bettering the lives of its locals, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from household and employment good friends in presence, as well as Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and employment representatives from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s office. Fetterman, D-Pa., and former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.