JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program celebrated 8 graduates of the program’s 2nd cohort who went into a brand-new phase of life Friday.

The event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a clean slate for the graduates, who are set to seek additional education or work in the Johnstown location, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

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

The program consisted of courses offered at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood spaces to eliminate participants’ transport barriers.

The curriculum included dispute management, task search and interview abilities, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, as well as sightseeing tour for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based manufacturing business consisting of Kitron and Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday celebrated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging dozens more who registered, but opted out after discovering work or other additional education chances along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (best), of the Coopersdale area of Johnstown, celebrates 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.

Jeanne Vandergrift (front), of the Dale section of Johnstown, commemorates with graduates 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.

RJ Montague (best), of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Director Mike Alberts (center) while getting 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 delegated right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and JARI President and Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst section of Johnstown, commemorates during 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, referall.us praises 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 participants completing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program throughout 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 stated members of the program’s 2nd cohort have actually advanced to additional education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for certification in fields including HVAC, emergency situation medicine and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to participants and finished its very first mate in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more mates are scheduled, Grimaldi said. The program was started by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was one of the very best concepts we have actually had for finding quality staff members for companies in the area,”Balog stated.”We created the idea of working with our public real estate units due to the fact that lots of people had transport and childcare 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 said the program has helped individuals”

lift themselves up and get them linked. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has made HUD recognition as a best practice, a recognition provided to one authority yearly for especially improving the lives of its residents, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from family and friends in participation, along with 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 stated.