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 accomplice who went into a new stage of life Friday.

The ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a clean slate for the graduates, who are set to look for additional education or employment in the Johnstown area, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

The program consisted of courses provided at Johnstown public housing neighborhood spaces to get rid of individuals’ transport barriers.

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

The ceremony Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who enrolled, but pulled out after discovering employment or other additional education chances along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale section 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 area of Johnstown, commemorates with graduates after receiving her Certificate of Completion during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in 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 during the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony 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, of the Oakhurst section of Johnstown, commemorates during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, opad.biz January 31, 2025.

Dellia Gonzalez, of the Oakhurst section of Johnstown, with her child Dakota Marong, 3, applauds the graduates throughout 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 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 stated members of the program’s 2nd associate have advanced to further education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to participants and graduated its first friend in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more friends are set up, Grimaldi said. 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 best ideas we’ve had for discovering quality employees for companies in the location,»Balog said.»We came up with the concept of working with our public real estate systems due to the fact that many individuals had transportation and childcare barriers that kept them from accessing resources outside of Johnstown’s public housing.» U.S. Department of Housing and jobs.kwintech.co.ke Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath stated the program has helped people»

raise themselves up and get them linked. «He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has made HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, a recognition offered to one authority yearly for particularly improving the lives of its locals, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from household and friends in participation, 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 former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.