JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates Brand-new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated 8 graduates of the program’s 2nd mate who got in a new phase of life Friday.

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

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

The program consisted of courses provided at Johnstown public real estate neighborhood rooms to get rid of participants’ transportation barriers.

The curriculum consisted of dispute management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life abilities management, along with field journeys for a robotics bootcamp and trips of technology-based production companies consisting of Kitron and sowjobs.com Compass Systems.

The ceremony Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, however opted out after discovering work or other further education opportunities along the method.

PHOTO GALLERY|Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program Graduation

Bernice Sanders (ideal), 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, celebrates 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 (right), jobvn24.com of Johnstown, shakes hands with Johnstown Housing Authority (JHA) Executive Director Mike Alberts (center) while getting their Certificate of Completion during the JHA Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Searching, inquiry from left to right, is Pennsylvania Highlands Community College President Steve Nunez and JARI President and CEO Linda Thomson.

Marie Bradford, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, commemorates throughout the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland [empty] Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

Dellia Gonzalez, of the Oakhurst area of Johnstown, with her child Dakota Marong, [empty] 3, praises the graduates throughout the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program graduation ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

JARI Workforce Development Director [empty] Dave Grimaldi congratulates 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
[email protected]!.?.! JARI Director of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi said members of the program’s second accomplice have advanced to additional education at Penn Highlands or other area schools for accreditation in fields consisting of HVAC, emergency medicine and cybersecurity. The program is supplied at no charge to participants and finished its first associate in June. After Friday’s graduation, two more accomplices are scheduled, Grimaldi stated. The program was started by former JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County website administrator Jeff Dick.”This was among the finest concepts we’ve had for finding quality workers for companies in the location,”Balog said.”We developed the concept of dealing with our public housing systems because many 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 stated the program has helped people”

raise themselves up and get them connected. “He congratulated the graduates and the partners who made the program possible. The program has made HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, a recognition provided to one authority each year for particularly improving the lives of its residents, Alberts said. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from household and good friends in attendance, as well as 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 former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey were important in promoting the program, JARI President Linda Thomson stated.