JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated eight graduates of the program’s 2nd friend who got in a brand-new stage of life Friday.

The event 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 area, said JHA Executive Mike Alberts.

For the previous 4 months, those enrolled in the program finished courses supplied by a collaboration amongst Penn Highlands, https://horizonsmaroc.com/entreprises/grainfather/ Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program consisted of courses supplied at Johnstown public housing neighborhood spaces to remove participants’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum consisted of conflict management, task search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, along with sightseeing tour for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based production companies including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday commemorated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who enrolled, however pulled out after discovering work or other further education opportunities along the way.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (best), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, celebrates after getting 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.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale area of Johnstown, celebrates with graduates after receiving her Certificate of Completion during the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland www.opad.biz Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

RJ Montague (best), of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Director Mike Alberts (center) while receiving 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 section of Johnstown, commemorates 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 daughter Dakota Marong, [empty] 3, praises 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 finishing 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 said members of the program’s second accomplice have progressed to additional education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to participants and graduated its very first associate in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more cohorts are arranged, Grimaldi stated. 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 concepts we have actually had for discovering quality staff members for companies in the location,”Balog stated.”We developed the concept of working with our public housing units since many individuals had transportation and child care barriers that kept them from accessing resources outside of Johnstown’s public housing.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath said the program has helped individuals”

lift themselves up and get them connected. “He congratulated the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD recognition as a best practice, an acknowledgment given to one authority annually for particularly bettering the lives of its locals, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from household and friends in presence, 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 office. Fetterman, https://studentvolunteers.us/employer/washcareer/ D-Pa., and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were instrumental in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.