JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated eight graduates of the program’s 2nd associate who entered a new phase of life Friday.

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

For recrutamentotvde.pt the previous 4 months, those registered in the program finished courses offered by a partnership among Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program consisted of courses provided at Johnstown public housing community spaces to eliminate individuals’ transport barriers.

The curriculum included dispute management, job search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, in addition to field trips for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based manufacturing companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who enrolled, but pulled out after discovering employment or other additional education opportunities along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (best), of the Coopersdale area of Johnstown, commemorates 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), 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 (right), of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Director Mike Alberts (center) while getting their Certificate of Completion throughout 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 working.co.ke JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst section 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 area of Johnstown, with her daughter Dakota Marong, 3, praises the graduates during 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 congratulates the participants completing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program during 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 stated members of the program’s 2nd accomplice have actually advanced to further education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for [empty] accreditation in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and finished its very first accomplice in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more friends are scheduled, Grimaldi said. The program was initiated by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the finest ideas we have actually had for discovering quality employees for companies in the area,”Balog said.”We developed the concept of working with our public real estate units since lots of people had transportation 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 linked. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority every year for specifically bettering the lives of its residents, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from household and good friends in attendance, as well as 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 were crucial in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.