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 friend who entered 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 seek additional education or work in the Johnstown location, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the past 4 months, those registered in the program completed by a collaboration amongst Penn Highlands, referall.us Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

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

The curriculum consisted of dispute management, job search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, as well as excursion for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based manufacturing business including Kitron and Compass Systems.

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

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale area of Johnstown, celebrates 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 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 (ideal), of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Director Mike Alberts (center) while receiving 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. 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 area 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 section of Johnstown, with her child Dakota Marong, 3, praises 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 individuals 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
[email protected]!.?.! JARI Director of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi said members of the program’s second accomplice have actually progressed to more education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for accreditation in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency situation medication and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to individuals and finished its first friend in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more cohorts 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 among the very best concepts we have actually had for finding quality employees for employers in the location,”Balog stated.”We came up with the idea of working with our public real estate units due to the fact that lots of people had transportation and child care 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 said the program has assisted individuals”

raise themselves up and get them linked. “He congratulated the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has made HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, a recognition offered to one authority annually for particularly improving the lives of its residents, Alberts said. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from household and buddies in participation, in addition to Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and representatives from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s workplace. Fetterman, D-Pa., and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.