JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated 8 graduates of the program’s second mate 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 look for additional 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 supplied by a partnership among Penn Highlands, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and PA CareerLink.

The program included courses supplied at Johnstown public housing community spaces to remove participants’ transport barriers.

The curriculum consisted of dispute management, task search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, in addition to sightseeing tour for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based manufacturing business including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday celebrated the 8 graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who enrolled, however opted out after discovering employment or other additional education opportunities along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (ideal), 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 (front), of the Dale area of Johnstown, celebrates 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, commemorates throughout the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation event 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, 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 congratulates the individuals finishing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program throughout a graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, referall.us January 31, 2025.

By Thomas Slusser
tslusser@tribdem.com!.?.! JARI Director of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi stated members of the program’s second accomplice have advanced to additional education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for certification in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency medicine and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and finished its first friend in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more accomplices are scheduled, Grimaldi said. The program was initiated by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was among the finest ideas we have actually had for finding quality workers for companies in the location,”Balog said.”We came up with the concept of working with our public real estate units because lots of people had transportation and childcare 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 assisted people”

lift themselves up and get them connected. “He praised the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has actually made HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, a recognition offered to one authority annually for especially bettering the lives of its locals, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from household and friends in attendance, along with 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 previous U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were crucial in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.