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JHA Employment, Training Program Celebrates new Graduates

The Johnstown Housing Authority’s Employment and Training Program commemorated eight graduates of the program’s second accomplice who went into a new phase of life Friday.

The ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township marked a brand-new beginning for the graduates, who are set to look for more education or work in the Johnstown location, said JHA Executive Director Mike Alberts.

For the past four months, those registered 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 neighborhood rooms to eliminate individuals’ transport barriers.

The curriculum consisted of dispute management, job search and interview skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, and life skills management, along with excursion for a robotics bootcamp and employment trips of technology-based production companies including Kitron and Compass Systems.

The event Friday commemorated the eight graduates of the program while acknowledging lots more who registered, but chose out after finding 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, celebrates 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 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 event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025.

RJ Montague (ideal), employment 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 ceremony at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, 2025. Searching, 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, 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 area of Johnstown, with her daughter Dakota Marong, 3, 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 individuals finishing the Johnstown Housing Authority Employment & Training Program during a graduation event at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Richland Township on Friday, January 31, employment 2025.

By Thomas Slusser
tslusser@tribdem.com!.?.! JARI Director employment of Workforce Development Dave Grimaldi stated members of the program’s second friend have advanced to additional education at Penn Highlands or other location schools for accreditation in fields including HVAC, emergency medicine and cybersecurity. The program is offered at no charge to individuals and graduated its very first mate in June. After Friday’s graduation, 2 more cohorts are scheduled, Grimaldi said. The program was started by previous JARI Workforce Development Director Debra Balog and

PA CareerLink Cambria County site administrator Jeff Dick.”This was among the finest concepts we’ve had for finding quality staff members for companies in the area,”Balog stated.”We developed the idea of working with our public real estate units since lots of people had transportation and child care barriers that kept them from accessing resources outside of Johnstown’s public real estate.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath stated the program has assisted individuals”

lift themselves up and get them connected. “He praised the graduates and the collaborators who made the program possible. The program has actually earned HUD acknowledgment as a best practice, a recognition offered to one authority every year for particularly bettering the lives of its homeowners, Alberts stated. The graduates got certificates and a standing ovation from friends and family in attendance, along with Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley and agents 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.