JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated eight graduates of the program’s 2nd friend who got in 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 further education or work in the Johnstown location, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

The program included courses offered at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood rooms to get rid of individuals’ transport barriers.

The curriculum consisted of dispute management, job 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 celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, but chose out after finding work or other more education opportunities along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (right), of the Coopersdale section of Johnstown, commemorates 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 section of Johnstown, celebrates 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 (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 event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community 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 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 child 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 praises the individuals completing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program throughout a graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

By Thomas Slusser
[email protected]!.?.! JARI Director of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi stated members of the program’s second accomplice have actually advanced to more education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields consisting of HVAC, job emergency medication and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to individuals and graduated its very first associate 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 finest ideas we have actually had for discovering quality staff members for companies in the area,”Balog stated.”We developed the concept of working with our public real estate units because lots of people had transport and kid care barriers that kept them from accessing resources beyond Johnstown’s public housing.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office Director Michael Horvath stated the program has actually helped people”

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 acknowledgment as a best practice, an acknowledgment provided to one authority each year for particularly improving the lives of its locals, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in participation, in addition to Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and job agents from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s office. Fetterman, job D-Pa., and previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey contributed in championing the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.