JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and referall.us Training Program celebrated eight graduates of the program’s 2nd mate 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 further education or work in the Johnstown area, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

The program included courses offered at Johnstown public housing neighborhood spaces to get rid of participants‘ transport barriers.

The curriculum included dispute management, task 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 companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, but decided 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, commemorates after getting her Certificate of Completion throughout 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 section of Johnstown, commemorates with graduates after getting 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.

RJ Montague (best), 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 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, 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, praises the graduates throughout the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi congratulates 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 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 including HVAC, emergency medicine and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to participants and graduated its first cohort in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more mates are scheduled, 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 finest concepts we have actually had for discovering quality staff members for employers in the location,“Balog said.“We came up with the concept of working with our public real estate units due to the fact that many individuals had transportation and kid care barriers that kept them from accessing resources beyond Johnstown’s public real estate.“ U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath stated the program has actually helped individuals“

raise themselves up and get them linked. „He praised the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has earned HUD recognition as a best practice, a recognition offered to one authority annually for specifically improving the lives of its locals, Alberts stated. The graduates received certificates and a standing ovation from household and pals 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 office. Fetterman, D-Pa., and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.