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JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated eight graduates of the program’s 2nd accomplice who got in a new phase of life Friday.

The ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a clean slate for the graduates, who are set to seek further education or employment in the Johnstown area, stated JHA Executive Director employment Mike Alberts.

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

The program consisted of courses offered at Johnstown public housing community rooms to eliminate individuals’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum included conflict management, job search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, as well as excursion for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based production companies consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, however opted out after finding employment 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, commemorates with graduates after receiving 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.

RJ Montague (right), 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 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 child Dakota Marong, 3, praises 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 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 accomplice have actually advanced to further education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency medicine and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and finished its very first associate in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more friends are arranged, 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 very best ideas we’ve had for discovering quality workers for companies in the location, »Balog said. »We came up with the concept of working with our public real estate systems because many people had transportation 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 stated the program has actually helped people »

raise themselves up and get them connected. « He congratulated the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The has actually made HUD acknowledgment as a finest practice, an acknowledgment offered to one authority each year for particularly improving the lives of its citizens, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in attendance, 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 workplace. Fetterman, D-Pa., and former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson said.