JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated 8 graduates of the program’s 2nd cohort who went into 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 seek additional education or employment in the Johnstown area, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

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

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

The ceremony Friday commemorated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, but opted out after finding 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 ceremony 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, employment 2025.

RJ Montague (ideal), 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 College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Looking on, from left to right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst section 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 area of Johnstown, with her daughter Dakota Marong, 3, applauds 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 praises the individuals 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 said members of the program’s 2nd cohort have advanced to further education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for accreditation in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to individuals and finished its very first cohort in June. After Friday’s graduation, employment 2 more associates are arranged, Grimaldi said. The program was started by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the best ideas we’ve had for discovering quality staff members for companies in the location,”Balog said.”We developed the concept of working with our public real estate units 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 Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath said the program has helped individuals”

lift themselves up and get them linked. “He congratulated the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, an acknowledgment offered to one authority annually for especially bettering the lives of its residents, Alberts said. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from friends and employment family in presence, 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 office. Fetterman, D-Pa., and former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.