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JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated 8 graduates of the program’s second accomplice who went into a new phase of life Friday.

The event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a new beginning for the graduates, who are set to look for more education or employment in the Johnstown area, stated JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

The program included courses provided at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood rooms to eliminate individuals’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum included dispute management, task search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, as well as excursion for a robotics bootcamp and tours of technology-based manufacturing companies including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, however opted out after discovering employment or other more education chances along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (ideal), of the Coopersdale area of Johnstown, celebrates 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, horizonsmaroc.com January 31, 2025.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale section of Johnstown, celebrates 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, indianpharmajobs.in 2025. Looking on, from left to right, centerfairstaffing.com 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 area 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, January 31, 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director Dave Grimaldi congratulates the participants completing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program during 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 second cohort have progressed to more education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for certification in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency situation medication and [empty] cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to participants and finished its first friend in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more associates are scheduled, Grimaldi stated. The program was initiated by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick. »This was one of the best ideas we’ve had for discovering quality staff members for companies in the area, »Balog stated. »We developed the idea of dealing with our public real estate systems since numerous 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 connected. « He congratulated the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, xpressrh.com a recognition given to one authority yearly for particularly bettering the lives of its homeowners, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from family and good friends in presence, robbarnettmedia.com 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 previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.