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JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated eight graduates of the program’s second accomplice 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 look for further education or work in the Johnstown location, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the past 4 months, those enrolled in the program completed courses provided by a partnership amongst Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program included courses supplied at Johnstown public housing community rooms to eliminate participants’ transportation barriers.

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

The ceremony Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, however pulled out after discovering work or other further 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 getting 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.

RJ Montague (best), of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive 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, employment 2025. Searching, from delegated right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College Nunez and JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, celebrates throughout 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 daughter Dakota Marong, 3, applauds the graduates throughout the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, employment January 31, 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi congratulates the participants finishing 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
tslusser@tribdem.com!.?.! JARI Director of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi stated members of the program’s 2nd cohort have actually advanced to more education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields consisting of HVAC, employment emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to participants and graduated its first accomplice in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more friends are arranged, Grimaldi said. The program was initiated by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the very best concepts we have actually had for discovering quality staff members for employers in the area,”Balog said.”We came up with the concept of working with our public real estate systems since lots of individuals had transport 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 actually assisted people”

lift themselves up and get them connected. “He congratulated the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has made HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, an acknowledgment offered to one authority each year for especially improving the lives of its locals, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in presence, along with Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and 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.